Mrs. Henderson
American History Period 3
February 18, 2017
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks, born Rosa Louise McCauley, impacted the 20th Century by helping to initiate the Civil Rights movement, dismantling the Segregation Laws, and the founding of the Institution for Self-Development. At an early age Mrs. Parks faced many injustices wherever she went. This encouraged her to take action instead of sitting back and doing nothing. “She soon became actively involved in civil rights issues by joining the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP in 1943, serving as the chapter’s youth leader as well as secretary to NAACP President E.D. Nixon” –a post she held until 1957” (“Biography.com Editors”).
On that infamous day, December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks got on the bus like any other day, but something changed. Rosa was ordered to surrender her seat to a white man, but she refused. “The police arrested Rosa at the scene and charged her with violation of Chapter 6, Section 11, of the Montgomery City Code” (Biography.com Editors). This meant that the bus driver had the same …show more content…
She and her husband were fired from their jobs. With nothing left for them in Montgomery, they decided to move to Detroit, Michigan, to start a new life. “She became the secretary and receptionist for Congressman John Conyer, and she served on the board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America” (“Biography.com Editors”). “In 1987, Rosa Parks and her friend Elaine Eason Steele founded an organization called the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development. It consisted of bus tours introducing the important civil rights and Underground Railroad sites throughout our country. It was call “Pathways to Freedom” (“Biography.com