20th biographies covers 9/17/07 2:01 pm page 10 century ... · one day, she packed up baby rosa....

ROSAPARKSROSA

PARKS

20th CENTURY BIOGRAPHIES20th CENTURY BIOGRAPHIES

THIS HUMBLESEAMSTRESSCHANGED

THE FACE OFTHE CIVIL

RIGHTSMOVEMENT

BY ANNE SCHRAFF

Cesar ChavezAlbert Einstein

Anne FrankMahatma Gandhi

Helen KellerMartin Luther King Jr.

Charles LindberghRosa Parks

Jackie RobinsonFranklin Delano Roosevelt

Rosa Parks grew up in the strongly segregated SouthernUnited States. One day, she had had enough. She wouldnot give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus and wastaken to jail. This act inspired the movement for equalrights in the U.S. Find out how this quiet, modest womanhad a strong impact on the world. Learn about herstruggle to fight for what was right.

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20th Biographies Covers 9/17/07 2:01 PM 0

ROSAPARKS

BY ANNE SCHRAFF

Parks Book 9/17/07 12:22 PM Page 1

Development: Kent Publishing Services, Inc.

Design and Production: Signature Design Group, Inc.

SADDLEBACK EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING

Three Watson Irvine, CA 92618-2767

Web site: www.sdlback.com

Photo Credits: pages 28, 37, Library of Congress; page 59,The Rosa Parks Library and Museum

Copyright © 2008 by Saddleback Educational Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permissionof the publisher.

ISBN-10: 1-59905-252-0

ISBN-13: 978-1-59905-252-6

eBook: 978-1-60291-613-5

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 10 09 08 07


T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Chapter 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Chapter 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Chapter 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Chapter 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64


Rosa Parks, an African Americanseamstress, spent a hard day at her jobin Montgomery, Alabama. It was almostChristmas. She had done someshopping. She headed for the bus. Shewas looking forward to sitting down.

But, as soon as Parks sat down, the busdriver told her to get up. He told her togive her seat to a white man.

It was the 1950s in America. Blackpeople had to sit in the back seats of thebus. But, if a white person was standing,

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they were expected to give up those seatsto the white person. Rosa Parks refusedto get up. She was tired of beingmistreated and humiliated just becauseof the color of her skin.

Park’s refusal caused a major courtbattle. In the end, racial segregation onthe buses was declaredunconstitutional. Because of what thequiet seamstress had done, blackAmericans all over the South took amajor step toward equality.

Rosa Parks’ courage helped launch thecivil rights revolution.

Rosa Louise McCauley was born onFebruary 4, 1913, in Tuskegee,Alabama. Her mother, Leona, was ateacher. Her father, James, was acarpenter. Leona McCauley workedhard, cooking and cleaning. JamesMcCauley traveled all around the statedoing carpentry work.


When Leona McCauley was expectingher second child, she moved in with herhusband’s parents. The house wascrowded. Leona was very unhappy.

One day, she packed up baby Rosa.She moved back to her own parents’house in Pine Level, Alabama. Rosa didnot see her father again very much. Shesaw him once when she was a toddler.She saw him again as an adult.

Rosa’s brother, Sylvester, was born attheir grandparents’ house. Rosa liked itthere. She loved her grandparents.

When Rosa was about six-years-old,something frightening happened. Hergrandfather was sitting by the frontdoor with a shotgun across his knees.He told Rosa that the Ku Klux Klan wasin the neighborhood. The Ku Klux Klanis a terrorist organization that attacksAfrican Americans.

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Rosa’s grandfather said he would beready if they tried to break in and harmhis family. The Ku Klux Klan did notbreak in. But, Rosa felt sad that therewere white people who would try toharm black people.

Rosa learned an important lesson fromher grandfather. You have to stand upfor your family and for your principles.When Rosa was older, she got a jobpicking cotton for fifty cents a day.Many black children in the area workedpicking cotton.

Rosa worked from early morning tosundown. It was very hot, and the sunburned down on the children.

As she walked up and down the rowsof cotton, she got big, red blisters on herfeet. Since the blisters hurt so much, shemoved up and down the rows of cottonon her knees. The children had to be


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very careful that they did not get bloodfrom their blisters on the cotton.

At age nine, Rosa started school. Therewas a nice school for white children anda rundown school for black children. InRosa’s classroom, sixty children werecrowded together. But even though itwas difficult, Rosa liked to read storiesand play games with the other children.

When Rosa was eleven, she went intoa store for a soda. The clerk said blackchildren could not sit at the counter anddrink sodas. They could have ice creamcones instead. They had to eat themoutside the store.

Rosa’s mother had a great love forlearning. She wanted Rosa to go to agood school. So, Rosa was sent awayfrom her grandparents’ farm to the bigcity of Montgomery, Alabama.


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Rosa Parks was enrolled atMontgomery Industrial School for girls.To help pay her tuition, Rosa cleanedtwo classrooms every day.

The school was in Centennial Hill inMontgomery. Like all public and privateschools at the time, it was segregated byrace. All the students were black but theteachers were white.

The school was started in 1866 byMiss Alice L. White. Miss White was a

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Northern white woman who wanted tohelp the black people get educated afterthe Civil War.

Miss White was very strict, but sheloved her students. They loved her backbecause they could see she wanted abetter life for them.

Rosa learned a lot from Miss White.She learned a sense of pride. Rosa was agood student. She obeyed her teacherslike she obeyed her mother at home.

It was exciting for eleven-year-oldRosa to live in a big city likeMontgomery. For the first time in herlife, Rosa heard African Americanscriticizing segregation.

Rosa thought there was no way to stopsegregation. But, she heard an excitingstory of how some black people tried toend segregation twenty years earlier.


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In 1900, some black leaders inMontgomery were very upset abouthow black trolley riders were forced tosit in the back of the trolleys. So, theytold black riders to stop using them.

The African Americans inMontgomery did not use the trolleys forfive weeks. They white owners said theycould sit anywhere they wanted if theywould only come back. The trolleyowners were losing money.

So, for a little while, trolleysegregation ended in Montgomery. Butthen, the white people brought it back.The black riders had to sit in the backagain. This story made young Rosathink for the first time that maybesegregation would end one day.

Rosa Parks dreamed of being a teacherlike her mother had been. But, when shewas sixteen, she learned that her


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grandmother was very sick. So, shehurried back to Pine Level to help.

Then, Rosa’s mother got sick. Rosacared for her, too. The family neededmoney. Rosa returned to Montgomeryand worked as a housekeeper. She waseighteen. It seemed her dream ofbecoming a teacher would not come true.

Rosa McCauley met a young man inMontgomery, Raymond Parks. LikeRosa, he was very religious. He was amember of Rosa’s church.

Raymond Parks asked Rosa on a date.She agreed, mostly because he had ashiny, red car. But slowly, Rosa grew toadmire Raymond. He did a lot ofreading. She loved to talk to him.Raymond Parks was working on animportant civil rights case.


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A group of young black men wereaccused of a terrible crime inScottsboro, Alabama. They were calledthe Scottsboro Boys. They were chargedwith attacking two white women.

The boys ranged in age from twelve tomid-twenties. They denied the charges.But, at the time in the South, the wordsof blacks did not count for much incourt. The boys were convicted. All butthe twelve-year-old were sentenced todeath. The trial lasted only three days.

Raymond Parks and many other blackpeople believed an injustice was beingdone to these boys. Parks held meetingsand raised money to get the boys a newtrial. Rosa McCauley admired hisdedication to the cause.

It was dangerous for Parks to try tohelp the Scottsboro Boys. He could


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have been beaten or killed by angrywhite people. Rosa could see this manhad a lot of courage.

Raymond Parks asked Rosa McCauleyto marry him. She accepted hisproposal. In 1932 they were married.Rosa was nineteen-years-old, andRaymond was twenty-nine. RaymondParks was a hard-working barber, as wellas a civil rights crusader.


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Raymond Parks and the other civilrights workers had a victory in the caseof the Scottsboro Boys. The UnitedStates Supreme Court overturned theconvictions. The Court said the youngmen did not have a fair trial.

Rosa and Raymond Parks did not havemoney for a honeymoon after theirmarriage. They moved into a roominghouse.

Both members of the newly marriedcouple continued to work. Rosa Parks

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also helped her husband assemblepaperwork on the Scottsboro Boys case.Rosa Parks became more and moreinvolved in the struggle for civil rightsfor black Americans.

One of the women who had accusedthe Scottsboro Boys now admitted itwas a lie. Even so, the boys were triedagain. They were again convicted andsentenced to death.

But, the Supreme Court overturnedthe second verdict too. The verdict wasoverturned because there were noAfrican Americans on the jury.

Finally, a compromise was reached.The four youngest Scottsboro Boyswere freed. The others were paroledafter a year. One man, however, was inprison until 1950. Rosa and RaymondParks had helped save the lives ofinnocent young men.


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In 1932 Rosa Parks finally got herhigh school diploma. She worked as anurse’s assistant. She also sewed clothingfor white women.

In 1941 she got a job as a secretary atRussell Field Flight School. This was afederal facility, so there was nosegregation. Black and white employeesworked and ate together.

Rosa Parks loved the freedom of beingtreated like everybody else. On busesthat rode around the base, she could sitin any seat. But, when she left thefederal land and boarded a Montgomerycity bus, it was different. She had to sitin the back with the other black people.

Rosa’s younger brother, SylvesterMcCauley, was drafted in the UnitedStates Army. He was to help fight WorldWar II. The military was segregated, sohe served in an all black unit.


Rosa Parks’ interest in civil rights wasgrowing. She joined the NationalAssociation for the Advancement ofColored People (NAACP). Shevolunteered to work as a secretary forthe local chapter. She wrote letters,arranged meetings, and took care of theoffice. She was very efficient.

In 1945 American soldiers began toreturn home from the War. Amongthem were the million black men whohad served.

Sylvester McCauley had a fine warrecord. He helped carry many woundedcomrades to safety in bloody battles.McCauley thought that when he gothome to Montgomery he would berespected for his service to his country.But, returning black soldiers weremocked and sometimes attacked.

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There were white people who wantedsegregation to continue. They wereafraid the returning black soldiers woulddemand equality. So, these white peopletreated the black veterans even worsethan before the war.

McCauley was spat on by some whitepeople in Montgomery. He could notfind work. So, he took his wife and twochildren and moved out of the South.He went to Detroit, Michigan.

Things were not perfect for blackpeople in Detroit, but there was nosegregation. McCauley got a good jobwith the Chrysler Corporation.

Rosa Parks visited her brother inDetroit. She liked the sight of black andwhite people living together. But, shewas homesick for Alabama. Shereturned to Montgomery. She decided


she would work even harder with theNAACP to make Montgomery a fairerplace for blacks.

Rosa Parks was invited to speak at aNAACP convention. She was nervousbecause she had not done that before.But, she did a good job. She becameself-assured.

Rosa Parks got a job at Crittenden’sTailor Shop in Montgomery. She was anexcellent seamstress. She altered men’ssuits. She made dresses. Parks alsocontinued to work for the NAACP. Shealso taught Sunday school. Life wascomfortable for them.

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On the city buses of Montgomery,Alabama, black riders always had to sitin the back of the bus.

Also, black riders were not treatedwith courtesy. Drivers often called adultAfrican American women “girl” andadult men “boy.” They did not treatthem with the respect they showedother riders. Rosa Parks discussed thishumiliating situation with her friends atthe NAACP.

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Seventy-five percent of the peopleriding the Montgomery bus system wereblack. Most whites had their own cars.So, the black riders were supporting thebus system. Yet, they were badly treated.

Parks wanted to do something aboutthis. But, she was not sure what shecould do. She did not know anythingabout organizing protests or boycotts.

Some friends of Rosa Parks paid forher to go to a workshop at HighlanderFolk School. The school was in theAppalachian Mountains in Tennessee.There she could learn about working forchange in society.

When Rosa Parks arrived atHighlander School, she was nervous.Most of the other people were white.Parks felt strange. But, soon she fit invery well.

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The white people asked her aboutsegregation in Alabama. They were veryinterested in the stories she told abouther experience with the NAACP.

At Highlander School, somethinghappened to Rosa Parks that had neverhappened before. She was eating foodother people made. She had breakfastbrought to her on a tray. Parks wasforty-two-years-old. It was the first timeanybody had waited on her.

After the workshop at HighlanderSchool, Parks returned to Montgomeryand her seamstress job. Raymond Parkswas now in ill health. He could onlywork part time. That made it harder onRosa.

In August 1955 Rosa Parks attended aNAACP meeting. There, she met Rev.Martin Luther King Jr. for the first time.


She was very inspired by him. Heseemed strong and fearless. Rosa Parkshad fresh hope that conditions mightindeed change for black people in theAmerican South.

During the summer of 1955, RosaParks continued to work hard andvolunteer at the NAACP. She did notexpect anything dramatic to happen toher. But, her life and the whole systemof segregation was about to be shaken.

On a rainy evening on December 1,1955, Rosa Parks left her seamstress jobas usual. She headed home. She achedall over from the long hours she spenthunched over her work. Rosa Parks hadbursitis, a problem that causes pain inthe joints.

The first bus that came was toocrowded. Parks did not want to stand on

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the ride home. So, while waiting for thenext bus, she did some Christmasshopping.

When Parks returned to the bus stop,she put her money in the fare box.Then, she went down the aisle to a seat.All of the front seats were for whiteriders. The back seats were for blackriders. But the seats in the middle werefor anybody on a first come, first servedbasis.

Parks sat down in the middle sectionnext to a black man. She was glad to beoff her feet and heading home at last.

When the bus stopped at the nextcorner, some white passengers boarded.The entire front section for whites onlyfilled up rapidly. Some of the whiteriders were standing.


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The bus driver came down the middleaisle. The rule was that no white riderwould have to stand, even if that meantthat black people would have to give uptheir seats. The bus driver came to therow of seats where Rosa Parks wassitting.

There were four African Americans inthat row: Parks, a black man, and twoblack women across the aisle.

The bus driver told them all to get upso that the white man could take one ofthe seats. It was not allowed for a whiteperson to sit in a row also occupied byblack people. Once the white man satdown, the entire row became a “whiterow.”

The black man and the two blackwomen got up as they were told to do.Rosa Parks refused to move.


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The bus driver told Rosa Parks to getup or he would have her arrested. Sherefused. The bus sat there until twowhite police officers arrived. Theofficers arrested Rosa Parks and took herto jail.

Parks was led up a narrow flight ofstairs to her cell. It smelled bad in thejail. Everything was dirty. Parks was putin a cell with other women.

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Parks asked if she could make a phonecall. She wanted to tell her husbandwhat had happened. He was expectingher home. The jailer refused to let hermake a phone call until an hour hadpassed. Then, finally, Rosa Parks calledand told her husband she was in jail.

Word had already spread through theblack community that Rosa Parks hadbeen arrested. People who knew her sawthe police taking her off the bus. Now,Raymond Parks and some white and

Rosa Parks was arrested and fingerprinted.


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black friends came to the jail. They paidRosa Parks’ bail and took her home.

Soon there was a meeting of theNAACP. The leaders saw the arrest ofRosa Parks as a chance to end bussegregation in Montgomery and theentire nation.

First, the black people of Montgomerywould boycott the bus system. RosaParks would then be convicted ofbreaking the segregation law. At thatpoint, the NAACP would appeal.

They would take the case all the wayto the United States Supreme Court.They were hoping the Court woulddeclare segregation on publictransportation unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks’ elderly mother lived withher. Raymond Parks was not well. RosaParks supported her family. She was


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afraid she might be fired from her job.But even though she was worried, sheagreed to help with the bus boycott.

To start the bus boycott, the blackleaders in Montgomery turned to twoyoung ministers. They were ReverendRalph Abernathy and Reverend MartinLuther King Jr. There were meetings inthe black churches of Montgomery toplan the boycott.

The bus boycott was set for December5, 1955. No black man, woman, orchild was to ride the buses that day.

Thousands of leaflets were printed andgiven throughout the blackneighborhoods. People were told to findother ways to get to school or work. Ifthey had to, they were told to walkwherever they had to go.

The weather was cold on the morningof December 5. Rosa Parks and the


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other black supporters of the boycottwere fearful. They thought most blackpeople would want to ride the buses.

Many had long trips to work. Theyhad no way to ride to work inautomobiles. Most blacks had noautomobiles and did not know anyonewho did. It would be a terrible hardshipto walk for many miles and then put ina hard day’s work.

But, on that Monday morning, theblack people of Montgomery surprisedeveryone. They boycotted the buses.The buses were empty as they rolledthrough the streets. The boycott was abig success.

The leaders of the boycott were fromthe Montgomery ImprovementAssociation (MIA). They decided tokeep the boycott going until the city ofMontgomery gave in to their demands.


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The MIA demanded fair andcourteous treatment for black riders.They also demanded black bus driverson black routes. They insisted that seatsshould be given out on a first come, firstserved basis. Black people should not beexpected to give up seats they alreadyhad to white newcomers.

The MIA made plans to help theboycotting riders. They set up fleets oftaxicabs, which charged the same fare asthe bus. The few black people who didown automobiles agreed to carpool.Many adults and children promised tokeep on walking for as long as necessary.

Rosa Parks came to court and wasconvicted of breaking the bussegregation law. She was fined tendollars. Rosa Parks appealed thesentence. The whole issue of bussegregation was now on its way to theU.S. Supreme Court.


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In January 1956 Rosa Parks lost herjob. She was fired. She did not think itwas because of the bus boycott. But, itwas very hard for the family.

Parks took part time sewing jobs tokeep food on the table. Parks spent a lotof time doing volunteer work for theMIA. She found ways for many blackpeople to get to work without using thebus. She coordinated rides for people.She helped set up special bus stops forblack taxicabs at black churches.

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As the boycott continued, the whitebusiness community was suffering.Black people did not shop in downtownMontgomery anymore.

The bus companies were desperatewith all of their black riders gone. Somewhite people became angry. They madethreats against Rosa and others.

On January 30, somebody planted abomb at Rev. Martin Luther King’shouse. His wife and baby were insidethe house. If they had not been in theback of the house, they might have beenhurt or killed.

Some white people blamed King formaking the bus boycott more effective.In February, Parks, King, and 86 othercivil rights activists were arrested forsetting up the bus boycott. There was anAlabama state law against boycotts.


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Rosa Parks was becoming worldfamous now. News reporters came fromall over the world to see what washappening in Montgomery. It was allbecause Rosa Parks refused to give upher seat to a white man on that bus.

Many people praised Parks for hercourage. But, life was very hard forParks and her family. Leona McCauley,Rosa’s mother, was very ill. RaymondParks was nervous and sick. He couldnot work.

All the pressure was having an effecton the family. Rosa Parks had no steadyjob. She found it hard to pay her bills.For the first time in her life, Parks tookmoney from her friends to keep going.

On June 5, 1956, the federal courtruled that Alabama’s bus segregation lawwas unconstitutional. They said it


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violated the Fourteenth Amendment,which gave equal protection to allAmericans.

Alabama appealed to the United StatesSupreme Court. In November theSupreme Court agreed that bussegregation was unconstitutional. Thatmeant all buses all over the South had tobe integrated. Black people could nolonger be told they had to sit in certainseats.

The bus boycott was over. The civilrights workers had won. Rosa Parks hadwon.

In December Rosa Parks got on aMontgomery city bus. She sat where shewanted. Nobody said a word.

The integration of Montgomery’s bussystem went well overall. But, there weresome ugly incidents. Somebody fired a


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shotgun blast at Rev. Martin LutherKing Jr.’s front door. Fortunately,nobody was hurt.

A sniper shot a black bus rider in theleg. Several black churches werebombed. But, nobody was hurt. Littleby little, the white people ofMontgomery accepted what hadhappened. All charges against RosaParks and her friends were dropped.

Rosa Parks had helped win a greatvictory for the black people of the

Rosa Parks seated on a Montgomery City bus.


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American South. But, she continued toget threats. People called her home andwarned her to get out of Montgomery.Parks loved Montgomery. She did notwant to leave.

Parks’ husband was so upset. Heseemed to have a nervous breakdown.Parks’ mother was suffering too. RosaParks decided she could no longer askher family to pay such a high price.

The Parks family was also sufferingfinancially. Rosa Parks could not get ajob anymore. Everybody knew who shewas. White employers feared trouble ifthey hired her. There were very fewblack employers in Montgomery.

Rosa Parks sadly packed up her fewpossessions. They headed to the onlyplace where they had family, Detroit,Michigan.


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Sylvester McCauley, Rosa Parks’brother, owned a large house in Detroit.He and his wife, Daisy, had thirteenchildren. When Rosa Parks arrived inDetroit, her brother helped her getsettled. Rosa Parks joined the localNAACP. She looked for work.

Rosa Parks was offered a job inVirginia. She hoped to work in Detroit,but she needed to bring in money. So,she left her husband and mother in

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Detroit. She worked for the HamptonInstitute in Virginia as a hostess in theguest residence.

Parks worked at the HamptonInstitute for a year. Then, she cameback to Detroit and got a job at a smallshop as a seamstress. She worked tenhours a day at the sewing machinemaking aprons and skirts. It was hardwork, but now Parks could support herfamily.

While working at the shop, Parks meta black teenager, Elaine Eason. Theyoung woman was impressed with RosaParks. She had read about her in thenewspapers. She could not believe Parkswas a seamstress in Detroit.

Elaine Eason asked Rosa Parks allabout the Montgomery bus boycott andwhat it was like. Eason felt like she was


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talking to a celebrity. From then on,Rosa Parks and Elaine Eason (whobecame Elaine Eason Steele) were goodfriends.

Parks continued to be involved in civilrights activities. In August 1963 Rev.Martin Luther King Jr. led a large marchfor justice on Washington, D.C. Parkswas there.

Then, in early 1964, Rosa Parks heardabout a young black man trying to getelected to the House of Representativesfrom Michigan. Thirty-five-year-oldJohn Conyers, Jr. was a lawyer. He wasalso a hardworking friend of civil rightscauses. But, Conyers was not well-known. He would have a difficult timegetting elected.

Rosa Parks thought John Conyers Jr.was just what the people needed in that


district. She decided to help him getelected. She called Martin Luther KingJr. and asked him to come to Michiganto speak for Conyers.

King never made political speeches forpeople. But, he was convinced by Parksthat he should make this speech. Hecame to Michigan and asked voters toelect Conyers. It was just what theConyers’ campaign needed. JohnConyers, Jr. won the election.

When he joined the House ofRepresentatives, John Conyers askedRosa Parks to join the staff in hisMichigan office. Some of Conyers’friends thought this was not a goodidea. Parks was controversial. She hadbeen in the middle of that bus boycottin Alabama.

But, Parks took the job and turned outto be an excellent congressional

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assistant. When people broughtproblems to Congressman Conyers’office, Rosa Parks handled them. Shebrought important issues to Conyers’attention. Parks was courteous andefficient.

Some white people in Michigan knewabout Rosa Parks’ past in ending bussegregation in Alabama. Some of themsent her hate mail. The letters ridiculedParks. But, none of this bothered RosaParks. She had been through too muchalready to let hate mail get her down.

Rosa Parks became a member of St.Matthews American MethodistEpiscopalian (AME) church in Detroit.She was made a deaconess.

In her job, she reached out to the sickand needy of the church and tried tohelp them. She visited church members


in nursing homes and hospitals andprison.

Sometimes people would come to thechurch just to see her rushing arounddoing her work. They rememberedseeing her picture in all the papersduring the Montgomery bus boycott.Now here she was, quietly working inher church to help the needy.

Rosa Parks never took credit forhaving done anything outstanding. Shejust did what had to be done andremained a humble person. She knewshe was well known because of theMontgomery bus boycott. But, she didnot care about that.

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In March 1965 a group of AfricanAmericans marched from Selma toMontgomery, Alabama. Black peoplewere being denied the right to vote insome places in the South. The marcherscalled attention to this.

Rosa Parks was watching the march ontelevision from her home in Detroit.Suddenly, something terrible happened.White Alabama state troopers attackedthe marchers with clubs. Men andwomen were knocked to the ground.

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The marchers ran to a church andhoped they would be safe there. But, thetroopers followed them into the church.They threw one man right through astained glass window.

Rosa Parks was horrified. She hadtaken part in demonstrations. But,nobody had ever treated her like thesemarchers were treated.

Martin Luther King Jr. called Parksand asked her to come to Alabama. Hewanted her to join him in anothermarch. Parks had no money for theplane ticket. But, her brother’s tradeunion paid for her ticket. She was off toAlabama.

King led the march this time. TheAlabama state troopers watched. But,this time they did not attack themarchers. Rosa Parks was happy to havetaken part in this march.

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In 1967 there were race riots inDetroit. Rosa Parks spoke out againstthe violence. She understood that theyoung men were frustrated and angry.But, what they had done did not helpthemselves or others. They burnedbusinesses. Rosa Parks’ husband wasworking at a barbershop at the time. Helost all of his tools in the fires.

On the night of April 4, 1968, RosaParks and her mother were watchingtelevision. A bulletin flashed on thescreen. Martin Luther King Jr. had beenassassinated.

Parks and her mother wept at thenews. King had done so much toadvance the cause of civil rights. Now,he had been shot down and killed. RosaParks was filled with deep sadness.

Rosa Parks was now suffering fromhealth problems. She had stomach


ulcers and heart trouble. In the1970s,Parks fell down twice, breakingbones. She still worked forCongressman Conyers. She wassupporting her mother and, most of thetime, her husband too. She had to keepgoing no matter how she felt.

For five years Raymond Parks sufferedfrom throat cancer. Rosa Parks worriedand kept hoping he would recover. Sheloved and respected her husband.

Raymond Parks was not perfect, buthe had many good qualities. He did notmind that Rosa Parks’ mother lived withthe family. He never complained abouthaving his mother-in-law in the home.

Raymond Parks was often veryworried about his wife’s participation incivil rights causes. He was so nervousthat he sometimes could not sleep atnight. But, he knew how much this

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work meant to Rosa Parks. He neverasked her to give it up.

In 1977 Raymond Parks died. RosaParks was grief stricken. All throughtheir marriage, Raymond Parks wasoften out of work and sick. But, the factthat he was always there giving his wifemoral support meant so much to RosaParks. Now that he was gone, shemourned for him deeply.

A few months after Raymond Parksdied, Rosa Parks suffered anotherterrible personal blow. Her brother,Sylvester McCauley, also died. Whenthey were children, Rosa Parks alwaystook care of him. Now, he too was gone.

At this time Leona McCauley was alsounder treatment for cancer. Parks wasworking full time for CongressmanConyers. It was a very hard time in RosaParks’ life.


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Rosa Parks managed to care for hermother for two years while working fulltime. In 1979, ninety-one-year-oldLeona McCauley died. Rosa Parks wasnearing seventy. Now, she was all alone.

In 1979 Rosa Parks was given anaward called the Spingarn Medal by theNAACP for her civil rights work. Shealso won the Martin Luther King Jr.Nonviolent Peace Prize.

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She kept on working and overcomingher loneliness. Then, her friendshipwith Elaine Steel grew more important.The teenager she had met years before atthe sewing machines was now like adaughter.

Elaine Steele helped Parks realize shewould soon have to retire. Parks neededto develop new interests. At Steele’surging, Parks attended aerobics classesand studied holistic health.

The project that was most importantto Rosa Parks now was the Rosa andRaymond Parks Institute for SelfDevelopment. Students at the Institutewere urged to develop to their fullpotential. A program called Pathways toFreedom took students on tours aroundthe United States.

Rosa Parks and Elaine Steele took agroup of students to see the place where


the Selma to Montgomery March tookplace. They also visited sites along theUnderground Railroad. These sites weresafe houses where fleeing slaves hid out.During the times of slavery, they hidwhile on their way to freedom inCanada.

Parks wanted these young people toknow their heritage. She wanted themto understand the sacrifices black peoplemade before them. These sacrifices weremade so that they could have moreequality in their lives.

Thousands of young people from allover the United States took thesePathways to Freedom tours in the1980s.

In 1988 at age seventy-four, RosaParks retired from CongressmanConyers’ office. Her eyesight was poor.She was growing very tired. She knew

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she could no longer give her job theenergy it deserved.

Rosa Parks never did anything halfway. She needed to give her all. But, herage was now catching up with her.

Rosa Parks was always interested inyoung people. She believed the job ofthe adult world was to show youngpeople the way and to inspire them. Shewanted to make the world a better placefor the next generation.

To reach out to young people, RosaParks became an author. She wroteseveral books. The first book was titledMy Story. It told how Rosa Parks refusedto give up her seat on that bus. It wasabout how this led to the bus boycottand the end of bus segregation. Shewrote in her own simple, direct way.

Rosa Parks wrote the book QuietStrength to share her philosophy of life


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with youth. The book talked about thethings that were very important toParks. She wrote of her own religiousfaith and the values she held dear. Shealso wrote about the need to bedetermined to do your best.

For many years, children and youngpeople wrote letters to Rosa Parks.Sometimes they were having problemsin their own lives. They wanted heradvice. Sometimes they were justcurious about how Rosa Parks felt whenshe was sent to jail.

Parks gathered many of these letters.From them, she wrote her third book,Dear Mrs. Parks. She included the lettersof the young people and her answers tothem.

One young writer wanted to knowwhy racism still continued to exist in the


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world. He could not understand whysome people disliked others just becausetheir skin was a different color.

Rosa Parks told the boy thateverybody has to work together for abetter world. She said that God createdall people no matter what color theywere.

For the first time in Rosa Parks’ life,she had enough money to becomfortable. She had always struggledto make ends meet.

The royalties from her books,although not great, were enough to payher bills. She even had a little left over.Rosa Parks was surprised to find that shehad enough money that she did nothave to worry anymore.


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Rosa Parks never took a trip outsidethe United States until she was eightyyears old. Then, she was invited to go toJapan and speak to the young peoplethere. Rosa Parks was wondering if theyouth of Japan really knew who she was.

When she arrived in Japan she wasamazed to see eight thousand Japanesechildren lining the streets to greet her.They all were singing “We ShallOvercome,” the famous civil rightshymn used in many of the marches.

When Parks returned to the UnitedStates, she spoke at schools all over thecountry. She enjoyed talking to childrenand hearing their hopes and dreams forthe future. Rosa Parks lived in a Detroitapartment alone. One night a terriblething happened.

She was getting ready for bed when ayoung black man broke into the


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apartment. The man asked Parks formoney. She went to her purse to get himsome money. Then, he began to hit her.He punched her in the face many times.

Parks tried to fight the man off.Finally, he knocked her down and tookall of her money, about one hundreddollars.

Rosa Parks called Elaine Steele forhelp. She lived close by. She came overquickly. The police came and Parks wastaken to the hospital. Luckily, she wasnot badly hurt. She said she did not hatethe young man who had attacked her.She could not hate anybody.

After the attack, Rosa Parks moved toa more secure apartment. But, she didnot go into seclusion. She kept onvisiting schools and talking to youngpeople. In one school in Philadelphia,


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the children chanted her name as shedrove up. The children listenedattentively to what she had to say.

In 1996 President Bill Clinton gaveRosa Parks the Medal of Freedom. In1999 she received the CongressionalGold Medal.

President Clinton told the audiencethat when he was a little boy he had readin the newspaper about this bravewoman. She was the woman whorefused to give up her seat on a bus inMontgomery, Alabama. He said he wasinspired by Rosa Parks’ courage when hewas a boy. Now, he was proud to honorher.

In December 2000 the Rosa ParksLibrary and Museum opened at TroyState University in Montgomery,Alabama. The museum is on the exact


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spot where Rosa Parks was arrested thatday in 1955.

In 2002 a movie was made about RosaParks. It was called Ride to Freedom: TheRosa Parks Story.

The Rosa Parks Library and Museum inMontgomery, Alabama.


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Rosa Parks was confined to awheelchair in her later years. But, shecontinued to speak out on civil rightsissues. She was an ordinary woman, aseamstress who never thought shewould become famous.

Her act of courage and dignity thatday in Montgomery changed history.For decades, black men and women hadbeen forced to sit in the backs of thebuses. They had to accept rudeness andhumiliation throughout the South.

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But one quiet, gentle woman took achance. She risked her safety and herlivelihood. For that, equality wasadvanced.

Rosa Parks died in 2005 at the age ofninety-two. She was a nonviolentrevolutionary who made the UnitedStates a more just society. She did notdo it for money or for fame. Neither ofthese had much meaning to her. Shedid it for the simple reason that it wasthe right thing to do. She did it to makethe world a better place.


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B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Brinkley, Douglas. Rosa Parks.Thorndike, Maine: Thorndike Press, 2000.

Rosa Parks, Quiet Strength. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994.


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G L O S S A R Y

accuse: to charge with fault or guilt

attentively: carefully

bail: money paid for the release of someone from jail

chapter: a branch or part of an organization

comrade: a person who shares one’s activities or job; a

friend

controversial: problematic; causing discussion or disagreement

courteous: polite

criticizing: putting down

deaconess: a female leader in a church; often a woman who works to help the poor

efficient: performing in the best possible way with the least waste of time

federal: having to do with the national government

heritage: background; ancestry

holistic health: an alternative to scientific medicine

humble: not self-promoting;

modest

humiliate: to cause a person apainful loss of pride

injustice: an unjust or unfair act

mourn: to express sorrow or grief

parole: the release of a person from jail before the end of the sentence

ridicule: to put down or make fun of

royalties: a part of the money that is earned from the production of something that is given to the person who created it

seamstress: a woman who sews for a living

seclusion: in hiding; away from society

trolley: a car used for public transportation

unconstitutional: in violation of or not following the U.S. Constitution


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I N D E X

Abernathy, Ralph, 30American Methodist

Episcopalian (AME), 43Civil War, 10Clinton, Bill, 58Conyers, John, 41, 42, 43,

48, 49, 52Crittenden’s Tailor Shop, 20Detroit, Michigan, 19, 38,

39, 40, 43, 45, 47, 56Eason-Steele, Elaine, 40, 41,

51, 57Highlander Folk School, 22,

23King, Martin Luther, 23, 30,

34, 37, 41, 42, 46, 47, 50

Ku Klux Klan, 6, 7McCauley, James, 5McCauley, Leona, 5, 6, 35,

49, 50McCauly, Sylvester, 6, 17,

18, 19, 39, 49Montgomery Improvement

Association (MIA), 31, 32, 33

Montgomery, Alabama, 4, 5,8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 44, 45, 52, 58, 60

Montgomery Industrial School, 9

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 39, 50

Parks, Raymond, 12, 13, 14,15, 16, 23, 28, 29, 35, 48, 49

Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, 51

Russell Field Flight School, 17

Scottsboro Boys, 13, 15, 16Springarn Medal, 50White, Alice L., 9, 10World War II, 17


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