Rosa parks early life: Rosa Parks was born on February 4th, 1913 Rose Louise McCauley. She moved with her parents, James and Leona McCauley to Pine Level Alabama, she was just 2 years old when she resided with Leona’s parents. Her brother, Sylvester was born in 1915 just 2 years after her, and not too long after he was born her parents decided to separate. For most of Rosa’s childhood she was educated at home by her mother, her mother was a school teacher at a school nearby. Rosa helped with the farm they had, she did chores around the house and she learned how to cook and sew. Rosa did not attend public schools until she was 11 years old. The school she went to was called, The Industrial school for girls. She took various vocational and academic courses. 

Later on at age 19 Rosa Parks married Raymond Parks on December 18, 1932. Although they didn’t have any children they wanted one, but that time never came. Kids were still a very big part of Rosa’s life. Rosa and Raymond were together for almost 45 years. They had a lot of ups and downs in their time but they managed to keep their relationship together.  

The story that created a strong movement happened on December 1 1955. 

In Montgomery Alabama, Parks refused to get up from her seat and go to the back of the bus for a white bus rider. She never got up and she kept telling the man to go find somewhere else to sit. She was protesting her right to sit where she wanted. So she sat there, until the police were called. When the police got there, they tried to get her to go to the back of the bus but once again her answer was the same. She said no. The police then proceeded to arrest her. She only spent a few hours in jail before she was released. 

Rosa Park’s arrest sparked a 381 day bus boycott of the Montgomery bus system. Black people were refusing to ride the bus for 381 days. This created a lot of riots and other similar protests throughout Montgomery at this time. During this time period Montgomery was one of the most racist cities. So when they had riots, a lot of people were killed or hurt. After the boycott was over the U.S supreme court ordered Montgomery to integrate the bus system. One of the leaders of the boycott was a young pastor by the name Martin Luther King Jr, who was also a very important leader during the civil rights movements. He emerged as a prominent leader during this time.  

Later on in life Rosa parks became an administrative aide in the Detroit office of congressman, John Conyers Jr in 1965, a post she held until her 1988 retirement. Her husband Raymond, her brother Sylvester and her mother all died of cancer between the years 1977-1979.  

In 1995 Rosa parks won the “Golden plate award” . Then in 1996 she went on to win the “Presidential medal of freedom”. Again in 1979 Parks won the “Spingarn medal” and in 1999 the “Congressional gold medal” . In 2000 she won the “NAACP image award”. That same year she won a medal of honor.  In 2005, Rosa Parks passed away on October 24th at age 92. The cause of death was natural causes.