Diorama of Rosa Parks in Her Bus Seat – National Civil Rights Museum – Downtown Memphis – Tennessee – USA, opens a new window by Adam Jones, PhD, opens a new window / CC BY-SA 3.0, opens a new window
Rosa Parks Day is on February 4 celebrating this brave woman who stood up to injustice in the southern United States. Jim Crow laws kept whites and African Americans separate, giving whites unfair advantages. During Jim Crow, African Americans had to give up their bus seats to white passengers.
In 1955, when a bus driver asked Rosa Parks to give up her seat, she said no. This angered the bus driver, who had her arrested for disorderly conduct. Rosa fought the charge in court. In solidarity, people started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a powerful protest during the Civil Rights Movement.
Do you know about someone in history who was brave and stood up for others? Start with these books about Rosa Parks and others who did just that.
It’s Her Story: This story starts with Rosa’s childhood,. She worked hard while experiencing the harsh reality of segregation.
Who Sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott? Read about the events leading up to, during and after Rosa’s refusal to give up her bus seat. Meet important people who assisted her with her court case and supported the Montgomery bus boycott.
Rosa: Author Nikki Giovanni and illustrator Bryan Collier give us a powerful tribute to Rosa Parks. Collier uses collage illustrations to bring us closer to Rosa.
Because Claudette: Can you imagine risking arrest as a young teen? That’s what Claudette Colvin did. She refused to give up her seat on the bus which inspired Rosa Parks to take a daring stand.
Shirley Chisholm Is A Verb Shirley Chisholm was an unstoppable political force. She even campaigned for the presidency, paving the way for future political heroes like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Pauli Murray: Shouting for the Rights of All People: Until lately, Pauli Murray, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, has been a little recognized civil rights figure. They wrote important legal works and eventually became the first African American Episcopal priest.
Choosing Brave: Emmett Till was a Chicago teen who was brutally beaten to death by two white men while visiting Mississippi in 1955. To counter this injustice, his mother Mamie worked tirelessly to publicly share the details of her son’s death. One of the reasons Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat was because Emmett Till’s death affected her so deeply.