Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,994
Rosa Parks...
On December 1, 1955, black US civil rights activist Rosa Parks...
...arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for not wanting to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus.
At that time, racial segregation was extremely pronounced in Montgomery - as well as especially in the other southern states of the USA; there was e.g. B. Schools, park benches or elevators "Whites only" and "Coloreds only" (only for whites/coloreds).
The buses were also separated, although not completely!
There were four rows reserved for whites in the front, which were often empty but were not allowed to be used by the African-American passengers.
The back part, which was reserved for them, was usually overcrowded.
There was also a middle section that black people were allowed to use, but a full row had to be vacated if even one white passenger wanted to sit in that row (to maintain separation).
On December 1, 1955, this is exactly what happened. A white passenger demanded that the reserved row of seats where Parks was vacated be vacated. The other people made space, but the then 42-year-old refused because she didn't want to stand for the rest of the journey.
Bus driver James Blake then called the police and insisted on their arrest. Parks was arrested and charged with "disturbing the public order"...
... and fined $10 plus $4 in court costs.
In response to their arrest, Martin Luther King, by then a relatively unknown Baptist minister, and his Montgomery Improvement Association organized the 382-day "Montgomery Bus Boycott," which later forced authorities to desegregate buses and trains, and which is considered the trigger for many other protests of the civil rights movement in America.
Rosa Parks became an icon of the civil rights movement through her courage in defying everyday racism in the United States. At the same time, she was the target of threats and constant phone calls, leading to a nervous breakdown in her husband, Raymond Parks.
The couple then moved to Detroit in 1957. However, Parks remained active in the civil rights movement. In 1959 she was one of the speakers at the Million Man March in Washington, D.C.
She died at Detroit on Oktober 24, 2005 .
When the "Montgomery Bus Boycott" came to an end because the buses were desegregated, Martin Luther King demonstratively took a seat next to a white man in the front row...:
The bus in which Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955 is now in the museum...:
On December 1, 1955, black US civil rights activist Rosa Parks...
...arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for not wanting to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus.
At that time, racial segregation was extremely pronounced in Montgomery - as well as especially in the other southern states of the USA; there was e.g. B. Schools, park benches or elevators "Whites only" and "Coloreds only" (only for whites/coloreds).
The buses were also separated, although not completely!
There were four rows reserved for whites in the front, which were often empty but were not allowed to be used by the African-American passengers.
The back part, which was reserved for them, was usually overcrowded.
There was also a middle section that black people were allowed to use, but a full row had to be vacated if even one white passenger wanted to sit in that row (to maintain separation).
On December 1, 1955, this is exactly what happened. A white passenger demanded that the reserved row of seats where Parks was vacated be vacated. The other people made space, but the then 42-year-old refused because she didn't want to stand for the rest of the journey.
Bus driver James Blake then called the police and insisted on their arrest. Parks was arrested and charged with "disturbing the public order"...
... and fined $10 plus $4 in court costs.
In response to their arrest, Martin Luther King, by then a relatively unknown Baptist minister, and his Montgomery Improvement Association organized the 382-day "Montgomery Bus Boycott," which later forced authorities to desegregate buses and trains, and which is considered the trigger for many other protests of the civil rights movement in America.
Rosa Parks became an icon of the civil rights movement through her courage in defying everyday racism in the United States. At the same time, she was the target of threats and constant phone calls, leading to a nervous breakdown in her husband, Raymond Parks.
The couple then moved to Detroit in 1957. However, Parks remained active in the civil rights movement. In 1959 she was one of the speakers at the Million Man March in Washington, D.C.
She died at Detroit on Oktober 24, 2005 .
When the "Montgomery Bus Boycott" came to an end because the buses were desegregated, Martin Luther King demonstratively took a seat next to a white man in the front row...:
The bus in which Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955 is now in the museum...:
