This is a handwritten note made by civil rights icon Rosa Parks. She refused to surrender her seat on a public bus.
It was in Montgomery, Alabama, sixty-five years ago this day.
"I had been pushed around all my life and... couldn't take it anymore"
The new exhibition, "Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words," reveals this iconic figure's lifetime of activism through her personal collection, on display for the first time. Related Resource: Exhibition: "Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words"
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Rosa Parks (1913–2005) is best known for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the civil rights movement that ultimately led to the dismantling of Jim Crow segregation. Rosa Parks became an icon of the movement, celebrated for this single courageous act of civil disobedience, but she is often characterized by misconceptions. Contrary to popular belief, Parks was not a demure seamstress who chose not to stand because she was physically tired. Her calm demeanor hid a militant spirit forged over decades.
Under Jim Crow laws, Rosa Parks was charged with “ignoring a bus driver who directed her to sit in the rear of the bus.”
With COVID restrictions Montgomery planners have gotten creative. This year`s events include a scavenger hunt and drive-in feature.
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