Rosa Parks 5

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Jeanne Theoharis
89 of 221 pages
Biography

Quote from the book:”You treated her with deference because she was so quiet, so serene — just a very special person ... There was only one Rosa Parks." That’s what John Conyers, a man Rosa worked for, said about her.

Rosa Parks at an older age, still able and
willing to gain respect and freedom.

What happened until now: What I read this week was about her later years and what Rosa Parks did after the bus incident. Rosa gave speeches about the importance of civil rights and about how people have to stay strong to be free. She was never wealthy because she donated most of her money to civil rights causes and living off her husband’s pension and her own salary. From 1965 to 1988, she worked as a receptionist and office assistant for John Conyers, an African-American congressman; helping many people. For example, she helped homeless people get housing. In 1977, Raymond Parks, Rosa’s husband, died of throat cancer and in his honor, Rosa established the “Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development”, which motivates the youth to reach their highest potential to the present day. This institute is supposed to give the youth a global and inclusive perspective and also runs the "Pathways to Freedom" bus tours which show young people important civil rights and Underground Railroad sites throughout the U.S. Later that year, her brother also died from cancer, and in 1979, after Rosa helped her through her final stage of cancer and geriatric dementia, her mother also passed away. Rosa still kept on giving speeches and quietly fighting for black freedom, and even often returned to Montgomery to support Martin Luther King Junior in his actions. She also co-founded the Rosa L. Parks Scholarship Foundation for high school seniors that wanted to attend college.

Answers to the Questions:

1. The greatest and most famous impact Rosa Parks has made was her decision not to give in to these stupid laws, and not move to another seat on the bus on that cold December day. The impact of her action was that Martin Luther King Jr. started a boycott, and nearly no African Americans rode the bus for more than a year. That made the government change that law, and also helped to raise awareness about how unfair all these laws about the segregation of black and white people is, because we are actually all just humans with different features. The second great thing Rosa did (it actually happened before the bus boycott) was help free the Scottsboro boys; the black men who were accused of stealing and raping two white women on a train. Rosa and other activists freed all nine of them and that alone is great; she saved nine young men who had their whole life in front of them from death. At the same time she proved that just because someone is black, doesn’t mean they are criminals, again. The third, and only one of many, great thing she did, was when Rosa Parks and other activists were involved in the case of a young black woman getting raped by two white police officers. Their protests made the story stay in the newspaper for nearly two months, and also secured a trial, which means people saw that whites also committed many crimes, and also raised awareness again against the unfairness of the laws.
2. One more unique thing about Rosa Parks is that she achieved a lot; participated in protests and raised awareness for black people and against the laws, all without ever being violent. She was never described as loud, or rude, just stubborn, smart and able to get to what she wanted. Many people actually described her as quiet. I think that is special because Rosa was showing people that there is a way to achieve things without being violent. That is important because if Rosa was using violence to raise awareness for how unfair black people are treated, she would sink to the level of the people who think that blacks were violent and constantly committing crimes; and she would kind of fit in that stereotype.
3. Rosa has received many awards for her work and organization, like the Springarn Medal by the NAACP which was their highest honor. President Clinton also awarded her with the highest honor a civilian can get from the government; the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Rosa Parks was conducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame and a highway near St. Louis, Missouri, was named after her. She was given the International Freedom Conductor Award by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and she was mentioned by the Time Magazine as one of the 20 most powerful and influential women of the century. Throughout her life, she earned these and many more awards, and over two dozen honorary doctorates from universities all around the world. On the first anniversary of her death, current president George W. Bush ordered a statue of Rosa and placed it in the National Statuary Hall in Washington D.C.
4. Rosa’s body travelled throughout the country, and everywhere, thousands of people attended her memorials. There were even many private memorials, and also several funerals to honor Rosa Parks. Later, her body was placed in the Capitol Rotunda. Rosa was the second black person, and first woman, to be granted this honor, and again, thousands of people came to look at her body and reminisce about her. Even after she died, she brought people together who had the same interest: make this world a better place and gain freedom for everybody!

Here is another source I found very useful when writing my essay about Rosa Parks. It's an article that told me a lot about Rosa Park's life before the bus boycott, and only after reading it did I realize how much she actually did.

http://thegrio.com/2010/12/06/rosa-parks-political-journey-didnt-begin-on-the-bus/