from Rosa Parks: My Story

1. from Rosa Parks: My Story Rosa Parks (page 168)

2. Rosa Parks • Feb. 13, 1913 - Oct. 25, 2005 • Born in Tuskegee, Alabama • Known as the “mother of the modern Civil Rights Movement.” • In 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama - arrested for breaking an unfair law– she refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man • Incited a boycott that led to the end of segregation on the Montgomery bus system • Her courageous act marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement • In 1999, she was granted Congressional Gold Medal (highest honor given to a US civilian)

3. The back of the bus... • In Montgomery, Alabama, where Parks lived, the bus system reserved the first four rows for white riders. • 75 percent of the ridership was made up of black riders. • On December 1, 1955 at about 6 p.m., Parks went on the bus and sat on the first row of seats reserved for black people. • As the bus travelled, seats reserved for whites filled up. Some were forced to stand. • The bus driver, James F. Blake, demanded that Parks and other riders sitting in the first sections move. • Parks refused and Blake had her arrested.

4. The Montgomery Bus Boycott • Blacks boycott the Montgomery Bus system • Black cab drivers took blacks to work for $.10 per ride, while others organized carpools. • Boycotts follow in bus systems across the country. • The boycott ended on December 20, 1956 (381 days) • The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Alabama’s bus segregation unconstitutional. • The Federal Interstate Commerce Commission bans segregation on interstate trains and buses.

5. Things to think about… • This work is defined by which “type” of nonfiction? • What is Parks’ purpose in writing her story? • What is her childhood memory of her grandfather? • Howdoesthis memory affect her action that day on the bus many years later? • What kind of “tired” was she? • Why does she explain this to the reader?

6. Notes: • This work is defined by which “type” of nonfiction? • autobiography • What is Parks’ purpose in writing her autobiography? • To increase the awareness and understanding of the struggles of African Americans • What is her childhood memory of her grandfather? • She remembers her grandfather carrying a gun to protect himself and his family. • How does this memory affect her action that day on the bus many years later? • She knew it was wrong for her grandfather to always have been afraid– she didn’t want to be afraid anymore.

7. Notes: (cont.) • “What kind of tired” was she? • “tired of giving in” into the fear and oppression • Why does she explain this to the reader? • She wants people to know why she refused to give up her seat– NOT because she was physically tired or elderly…