Have you ever felt like you’re unimportant, unwanted? This is exactly how black people felt during Rosa Parks’ time, especially those living in the Jim Crow South. Life for back people at the time wasn’t so great and Rosa Parks wanted to put an end to that. Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. After Park’s parents divorced her mother moved hHer siblings and her to her grandparents’ farm in Pine Level, Alabama. Both of Parks’ grandparents were former slaves. Throughout Parks life she went to a lot of segregated schools.
Parks was a member of the African Methodist church and served as the Montgomery NAACP chapter youth leader before her arrest, NAACP was an early group working to get better treatment for black people., Parks helped black people sign up to vote. This was important because white people made it very hard for black people to vote by giving them impossible tests or making them pay money. Rosa Parkssaid: “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.” This quote shows that racism is a big thing and it will always be around, and people need to know how to deal with it. Even now In 2020 there still is racism but luckily not as much as there used to be in 1913 when Rosa Parks was born.
In the South black people were treated horribly, things really crossed the line of how they were treated, there was even rules about bus seating! White people would sit in the front of the bus and black people would sit in the back of the bus. The first 4 rows on the front of the bus were for white people and the black people would have to sit in the back of the bus. Lots of black people would get teased on the bus. Sometimes the bus driver would even drive away without letting black people on his bus. Black people would get arrested for the most unreasonable reasons ever, for example Parks got arrested for standing up for herself. I think that everyone should have freedom of speech, doesn’t matter if your white or black, everyone should be able to say what they feel, and stand up for what’s right. I find it unbelievable that Parks got arrested for that! Parks never intended for anything big to happen but people started protesting after her arrest, because people saw how unfair this was.
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In March 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, and she was arrested. (Just like Rosa Parks) More than 10 years earlier Blake stopped Parks from entering the front of the bus, and told her to use the back entrance, then sped away before she could can get in. Parks knew the bus driver his name was James Blake, he had a bad reputation for treating black passengers without respect. On December 1, 1955 Parks was arrested, her trial lasted 30 minutes, she was fined $10 and $4 in court fees. During the bus boycott, Parks and her husband lost their jobs, received death threats from people, then eventually moved to Detroit.
Jim crow laws were laws to keep blacks and whites separate, In Alabama there were so many unfair rules towards black people, a few examples showing unfairness towards black’s are:
- All black and white passengers would have separate waiting rooms or space and separate windows for tickets.
- White people shouldn’t play with black people at any game of pool or billards.
- White and black people weren’t aloud to sit together at a restaurant, if they were in the same room there had to be a wall at least 7 feet tall separating them.
- Train conductors kept people separate on trains (assigned seats)
Clearly Rosa Parks was surrounded by unfair prejudice. Parks was treated unfairly, was always bossed around by people who basically controlled her life. Jim Crow laws were horrible because these laws discriminate against people and make them feel bad about themselves. Jim Crow laws existed all over the south.
Parks’ life wasn’t so easy after the arrest; she still lived and poverty although she was very famous. Once Parks and Raymond (her husband) moved to Detroit, Michigan along with Parks’ mother. She started her life all over again, she worked as a secretary and receptionist in U.S.Representative John Conyer’s congressional office. Later on in her life Parks published a book called “My Story” Discussing her life in the south.
In 1955 she published another book called “Quiet Strength” focusing on the role that religious faith played throughout her life. In 1998 the hip hop group Outkast released a song called “Rosa Parks” Which got a lot of fame and was 100 on the Billboard music charts, About a year later Parks sued the company for using her name without her permission, Outakst said that the song was protected by the First Amendment, and didn’t violate publicity rights. In 2003 a judge charged Outkast $5 million towards Parks for using her name in there song without permission.
On October 24, 2005 Parks died in her apartment in Detroit, Michigan at the age of 92. She had been diagnosed with dementia which she suffered with since 2002. Parks had manymemorial services. About 50,000 people viewed her casket. , Soonafter Parks’ death, the chapel was renamed the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel. Parks accomplished many things during her lifetime, and influenced many people!
So many things aren’t fair in life, and we just need to know how to overcome that. Parks did the right thing by standing up for herself, we need to learn from this because we should always stand up for what’s right! Even if there’s people around you teasing you and treating you unfairly, we need to learn how to make a change!
