Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. After her parents, separated when Rosa was two, Rosa’s mother moved the family to Pine Level, Alabama, to live with her parents, Rose and Sylvester Edwards. (Both of Rosa's grandparents were former slaves and strong advocates for racial equality)

On December 1, 1955, after a long day's work she caught the bus home and took a seat in the first of several rows designated for "colored" passengers. The Montgomery City Code required that all public transportation be segregated and that bus drivers had the "powers of a police officer of the city while in actual charge of any bus for the purposes of carrying out the provisions" of the code.

As the bus Rosa was riding continued on its route, it began to fill with white passengers. Eventually, the bus was full and the driver noticed that several white passengers were standing in the aisle. The driver of Rosa’s bus stopped the bus and moved the sign separating the two sections back one row, asking four black passengers to give up their seats.

Three of the other black passengers on Rosa’s bus complied with the driver, but Rosa refused and remained seated.The driver called the police and police arrested Rosa at the scene and charged her with violation of Chapter 6, Section 11, of the Montgomery City Code.

Rosa Parks went on to become a symbol of Civil Rights in America