Who is this?

Rosa Parks

Seamstress in Montgomery, AlabamaDec. 1, 1955—refused to give up her seat on

a bus to a white passengerArrested by the police and jailed and found

guiltyWorked with Martin Luther King, Jr. to start

the Montgomery Bus Boycott“Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”Later became the secretary to the NAACP

Bus Montgomery Bus Boycott (381 Days) oBoycott

Began after Rosa Parks was arrestedThe boycott caused a crippling financial deficit for

the city of Montgomery Blacks were the majority of the passengers on their buses

Rosa Park’s lawsuit went to the Supreme Court in 1956

Sup. Court ruled Alabama’s segregation on buses was unconstitutionalthe boycott ended

1956—the Interstate Commerce Commission banned segregation on all interstate trains and buses

Parks died on October 24, 2005 at the age of 92

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Appointed as leader of the Montgomery

Improvement Association during the bus boycott

Believed nonviolent resistance would end segregation and racism (Gandhi)

Urged followers to disobey unjust laws through passive resistance

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) created in 1957 led by King Centered in black churches

throughout the South Worked to desegregate and get

blacks to vote

Quote by Martin Luther King Jr.

“I submit that an individual who breaks the law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.”

 What is your reaction to Dr. King’s assessment? How is it possible to break a law and yet have the “highest respect for law”?

Quote Analysis

Assess and evaluate the impact of Rosa Parks on the Civil Rights Movement using the quote as a basis for your assessment.

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

Rosa Parks

African American Churches

Many leaders of the boycott were ministersChurches were used for planning and protest

meetings