Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
When Rosa
McCauley was a little girl growing up in Pine level, Alabama,
laws in this state separated African Americans and white Americans. The
adults could not work at the same jobs. The children could not go to school
together. Many white people and black people were not friends. There were
fewer blacks than whites and, often black s suffered greatly.
Rosa was a tiny child, rather sickly
and very frail, but she was always
taught to stand up for her rights. She lived with her mother, her younger
brother, and her grandparents. "Never let anyone push you around," her
grandfather Sylvester always told her. And she never did.
Rosa's mother was a teacher. She
taught Rosa how to read when she was only
three years old. She also taught her how wonderful it was that she was a
beautiful, smart, African American girl. In school, as Rosa grew up, she was
taught to hold her head high and to feel proud. And she did.
Rosa grew into a find young lady.
She met and married Raymond Parks. Rosa
never forgot her grandfather's teaching to be brave, and she remembered the
messages of pride and dignity of her mother and teachers. Together, Rosa and
her husband worked to better the lives of her people. They helped many
African-American people who were treated unjustly.
In 1955, Rosa dn. her husband were
living in Montgomery, Alabama. She had a
job sewing clothes. One day after work she boarded a bus to go home. The
bus became crowded. When a white man got on the bus, there were no empty
seats, so the bus driver told Rosa to give up her seat.
Rosa knew this was not fair. So with
bravery and dignity, she said very
softly, "No."
The police were called and Rosa was
arrested and taken to jail. This was
December 1, 1955. Rosa was released that night, but four days later, she had
to stand trial.
Black people became very angry about
this. Some white people were angry,
too. They knew Rosa was right. African Americans throughout Montgomery
decided they would not ride buses the day of the trial. Instead, they walked
and they gave each other rides. They continued doing this for a whole year.
This was called the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Finally, the United States Supreme
Court, the highest court in the nation,
said that Rosa was right. African Americans could sit anywhere they wanted
to on the buses, and they did not have to give their seats to white people.
So the boycott ended.
Rosa Parks' bravery helped make life
better for all Americans. Laws
throughout the South began to change. The way black people and white people
felt about each other began to change, too. They were more at peace with
each other. They began to work at the same kinds of jobs and go to the same
schools.
by Karyssa, Sally, and Elizabeth