At age 42, civil rights activist Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She decided to sit in the section that was labeled “whites only,” and when she was told she needed to move to the back of the bus she refused. Parks was then arrested for civil disobedience, but her act brought attention to the fact that African Americans were not treated the same as whites. This incident lead to a 381 day boycott of public buses led by Martin Luther King Jr. Eventually, the laws in Alabama that were challenged in a Supreme Court case in 1956 that ruled that segregation was unconstitutional. Parks has since been a prominent figure in United States history as an example of standing up for one’s beliefs. …show more content…
King believed that no matter the race, everyone should have equality. As a minister and leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,Martin Luther King Jr. led many men and women in a fight for desegregation. His actions led to the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Along with Parks, King and many others protested inequality. By boycotting the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama, King helped to bring awareness to an issue he strongly believed