USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Contents. Rosa Parks (1913-2005) helped initiate the civil rights movement in the United States when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Her actions inspired the leaders of the local Black community to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Detailed explanation-2: -She refused on principle to surrender her seat because of her race, which was required by the law in Montgomery at the time. Parks was briefly jailed and paid a fine. But she was also a long-time member of the NAACP and highly respected in her community.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 1955, Parks rejected a bus driver’s order to leave a row of four seats in the “colored” section once the white section had filled up and move to the back of the bus. Her defiance sparked a successful boycott of buses in Montgomery a few days later.

Detailed explanation-4: -Lasting 381 days, the Montgomery Bus Boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling segregation on public buses unconstitutional. A significant play towards civil rights and transit equity, the Montgomery Bus Boycott helped eliminate early barriers to transportation access.

Detailed explanation-5: -1, 1955: Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat. On Dec. 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.