Most people remember Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the back of the bus, but most people don’t know how she fits into the history of civil rights. She was not the first person who refused to give up her seat, but her case was for chosen by the NAACP to challenge segregation laws in the Alabama state courts. Her case got bogged down in the court system, but she eventually saw relief when the U.S. Supreme Court declared bus segregation was unconstitutional. Her act of civil disobedience led to a movement that benefitted all Americans.
The History of Bus Segregation
At the turn of the 20th century, in Montgomery, Alabama, the city passed an ordinance that separated the bus passengers by race. Conductors had the right to choose which seats went to which race. The intent of the law was that no one should have to give up their seat, but conductors began to make African-Americans move when the “white” section became full.
African-Americans protested these rules for many years. Bayard Rustin, a civil rights leader, refused to move to the back of the bus in 1942. Others followed suit over the next few years, including Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Mary Louise Smith and Susie McDonald, who were arrested just a few months before Parks. These four women prevailed in Browder v. Gayle, the case that went to the Supreme Court. W.A. Gayle, the defendant, was the mayor of Montgomery. The case was filed in February 1956, and by the end of the year, on December 20, the buses were desegregated.
Rosa Parks Did More Than Desegregate Buses
It used to be thought that Parks was tired that day, but she was actually quite prepared for her act of civil disobedience. She had been a member of the NAACP for years and had attended training designed for civil rights activists. Her act may be praised today, but at the time, she lost her job as a seamstress and received death threats. She was also fined $10 by the court. In today’s currency, that’s about $88.00.
On December 5, when Parks was facing her trial, the black community came together to boycott the buses. This boycott would last more than a year, and it caused serious economic distress in the city. It would almost bankrupt the bus company, but it brought national attention to a huge problem that affected many more communities beyond the city limits of Montgomery.
Parks ultimately had to move out of Montgomery to find work. She would go to Detroit where she would work against housing segregation. She diligently worked in activism at a national level, traveling around the country to support many of the major civil rights movements, such as the Selma-to-Montgomery Marches and the Philadelphia Black Power Conference.
She wrote many books about her life and faith to help a new generation understand her heritage. Her legacy is remembered through a scholarship fund she created and by many memorials in her honor, such as a section of Highway 55 in Missouri renamed as Rosa Parks Highway.
Why Rosa Parks Day Is Celebrated in December
In California and Missouri, Rosa Parks Day is celebrated on her birthday, February 4. In Ohio and Oregon, it’s celebrated on the day she was arrested, December 1. Ms. Parks joins a handful of African-Americans who have holidays in their honor, including Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Even if you don’t live in a state that recognizes Rosa Parks Day, there’s no reason you and your family cannot take some time to remember her and those who refused to move to the back of the bus on December 1. Read her biography or visit a civil rights museum. Don’t let her legacy go unnoticed.