Mary Carr Rosa Louise McCauley was born on 4 February 1913 to James and Leona McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama. She is of African, Scots-Irish, and Native American ancestry.
Mary Carr She married Raymond Parks on 18 December 1932. Raymond, who was a barber, was the one who encouraged Rosa Parks to complete her high school studies.
Mary Carr Though Rosa Parks was best known for her refusal to move from her seat on the bus in 1955, her first bus incident happened in 1942. The Montgomery City bus rules stated that non-white passengers were to board the bus at the front to pay the fare, disembark, and then board again through the rear door. On this incident, instead of disembarking, she went straight to her seat at the rear of the bus. The driver insisted that she must disembark and enter through the rear door. After much argument, she moved to disembark. However, before getting off the bus, she dropped her bag near the front of the bus. As she bent down to pick up her bag, she briefly sat on a seat reserved for white passengers. In a fit of rage, the bus driver sped away as soon as she got off the bus. She had no choice but to walk the rest of the way home in the rain.
Mary Carr She joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as the organisation’s secretary.
Mary Carr
Mary Carr Rosa Parks was the Youth Council advisor of NAACP Montgomery.
Mary Carr Rosa Park’s iconic protest happened on 1 December 1955. After a full day at work, she boarded the bus and sat on the first row of seats just behind the last row reserved for the whites. When the bus filled up and the driver noticed some white passengers standing, he told the “black passengers” to move towards the back. Rosa refused to give up her seat. She was subsequently arrested after the bus driver called the police.
Mary Carr
Mary Carr She worked as secretary and receptionist for African-American US Representative John Conyers between 1965 to 1988.
Mary Carr The NAACP recognised Rosa Park’s contributions to the fight against segregation and awarded her with the Spingarn Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the organisation.
Mary Carr Rosa Parks: My Story, her autobiography was published in 1992.
Mary Carr
Mary Carr Then US President Bill Clinton awarded Rosa Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Mary Carr Rosa Park died on 24 October 2005 in Detroit, Michigan. Her body was laid in honour at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. Buses in Detroit and Montgomery tied black ribbons on the front seats of the city buses to honour her.
Mary Carr Buses in Detroit and Montgomery tied black ribbons on the front seats of the city buses to honour her.
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Join MemoriesOn the anniversary of Rosa Park’s death, we look back on the American activist’s life and the great impact she has made on the US civil rights movement.