Rosa Parks

/ ˈrəʊ.zə pɑːks / figure /

RE: CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, HUMAN RIGHTS, POLITICS, PROTEST

Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist best known for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. Her quiet but powerful act of resistance led to her arrest—and sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a landmark protest that lasted over a year and helped launch the wider civil rights movement in the United States.

Often called “the mother of the civil rights movement,” Parks became a global symbol of courage, dignity, and the power of standing up to injustice. But her activism didn’t stop with that one moment—she spent much of her life fighting for racial equality, voter rights, and social justice.

Encyclopedia | More terms beginning with 'R'