Interesting Facts About Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was one of the most significant figures in the civil rights movement. She is best known for her refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to a white passenger, which sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the civil rights movement. In this article, we will explore some of the most interesting facts about Rosa Parks.

Early Years and Education

Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913. She was the youngest of four children born to James and Leona McCauley. Her mother was a teacher and her father worked as a carpenter and a building contractor. Rosa attended segregated public schools and graduated from the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls in 1932.

The Bus Incident

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. When the bus became full, the bus driver asked her to give up her seat to a white passenger. Rosa refused and was arrested. This incident sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for 381 days and resulted in the desegregation of the public transportation system in Montgomery.

Later Life and Death

After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa became an international symbol of resistance and civil disobedience. In 1977, she founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development to promote education and leadership among young people. Rosa passed away on October 24, 2005, in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 92.

Interesting Facts About Rosa Parks

• Rosa Parks was an active participant in the civil rights movement for more than four decades.

• Rosa was the first woman to be honored with a statue in the U.S. Capitol.

• She was the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.

• Rosa was the first woman to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

• Rosa’s husband, Raymond, served in the Korean War.

• Rosa wrote an autobiography called “My Story” in 1992.

• She was the first African-American woman to be honored with a posthumous statue in the Capitol.

• Rosa was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolence Award in 2006.

• Rosa was the first woman to be honored with a full-length statue in the Capitol.

• Rosa was awarded the NAACP Spingarn Medal in 1979.

• Rosa was the first woman to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2005.

• Rosa was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2008.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the National Freedom Award in 2011.

• Rosa was the only woman to be honored with a full-length statue in Statuary Hall in the Capitol.

• Rosa was the first woman to be awarded the International Freedom Conductor Award in 2006.

• Rosa was the first African-American woman to be honored with a full-length statue in the Capitol.

• Rosa was the first woman to be awarded the NAACP’s highest honor, the Spingarn Medal.

• Rosa was awarded the International Peace Prize in 2000.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award in 2006.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Award in 2006.

• Rosa was inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in 2007.

• Rosa was the first woman to be honored with a full-length statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the Capitol.

• Rosa was the first woman to be awarded the Freedom Medal by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2006.

• Rosa was awarded the International Freedom Conductor Award in 2006.

• Rosa was the first woman to be featured on a United States coin.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the NAACP’s highest honor, the Spingarn Medal, in 2006.

• Rosa was the first African-American woman to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award in 2006.

• Rosa was posthumously awarded the United Nations Human Rights Award in 2008.

Conclusion

Rosa Parks was an important figure in the civil rights movement and her legacy continues to live on today. We hope this article has provided you with some interesting facts about her life and work. She was a trailblazer who fought for civil rights and social justice, and her courage and determination will never be forgotten.