Rosa Parks : Biography and Influences
                     Rosa Parks: 
Biography and 
Influences
INTRODUCTION
Rosa Louise Parks was nationally recognized as the 
“mother of the modern day civil rights movement” 
in America. 
Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male 
passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, 
December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest 
December 5, 1955 that reverberated throughout 
the United States. Her quiet courageous act 
changed America, its view of black people and 
redirected the course of history.
Source: www.rosaparks.org
Birth
Mrs. Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley, 
February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was 
the first child of James and Leona Edwards 
McCauley. Her brother, Sylvester McCauley, now 
deceased, was born August 20, 1915. Later, the 
family moved to Pine Level, Alabama where Rosa 
was reared and educated in the rural school.
Source: www.rosaparks.org
Education
When she completed her education in Pine Level at 
age eleven, her mother, Leona, enrolled her in 
Montgomery Industrial School for Girls (Miss 
White’s School for Girls), a private institution. 
After finishing Miss White’s School, she went on to 
Alabama State Teacher’s College High School. She, 
however, was unable to graduate with her class, 
because of the illness of her grandmother Rose 
Edwards and later her death.
Source: www.rosaparks.org
Early Life
As Rosa Parks prepared to return to Alabama State 
Teacher’s College, her mother also became ill, 
therefore, she continued to take care of their home 
and care for her mother while her brother, 
Sylvester, worked outside of the home. 
She received her high school diploma in 1934, after 
her marriage to Raymond Parks, December 18, 
1932. Raymond, now deceased was born in 
Wedowee, Alabama, Randolph County, February 12, 
1903, received little formal education due to racial 
segregation. 
Source: www.rosaparks.org
Mr. Parks
Mr. Parks was an early activist in the effort to free 
the “Scottsboro Boys,” a celebrated case in the 
1930′s. Together, Raymond and Rosa worked in the 
National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People (NAACP’s) programs. 
He was an active member and she served as 
secretary and later youth leader of the local 
branch. At the time of her arrest, she was preparing 
for a major youth conference.
Source: www.rosaparks.org
Arrest of Rosa 
Parks
After the arrest of Rosa Parks, black people of 
Montgomery and sympathizers of other races 
organized and promoted a boycott of the city bus 
line that lasted 381 days. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
was appointed the spokesperson for the Bus 
Boycott and taught nonviolence to all participants. 
Source: www.rosaparks.org
The Rosa and 
Raymond Parks
The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self 
Development’s “Pathways to Freedom program, 
traces the underground railroad into the civil rights 
movement and beyond. Youth, ages 11 through 17, 
meet and talk with Mrs. Parks and other national 
leaders as they participate in educational and 
historical research throughout the world.
Source: www.rosaparks.org
Role model for 
youth
As a role model for youth she was stimulated by 
their enthusiasm to learn as much about her life as 
possible. A modest person, she always encourages 
them to research the lives of other contributors to 
world peace. The Institute and The Rosa Parks 
Legacy are her legacies to people of good will.
Source: www.rosaparks.org
Honors
Mrs. Parks received more than forty-three honorary 
doctorate degrees, including one from SOKA 
UNIVERSITY, Tokyo Japan, hundreds of plaques, 
certificates, citations, awards and keys to many 
cities. 
Among them are the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal, the 
UAW’s Social Justice Award, the Martin Luther King, 
Jr. Non – Violent Peace Prize and the ROSA PARKS 
PEACE PRIZE in 1994, Stockholm Sweden, to name 
a few.
Source: www.rosaparks.org
Books written by 
Mrs. Parks 
Mrs. Parks has written four books, Rosa Parks: My 
Story: by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, Quiet 
Strength by Rosa Parks with Gregory J. Reed, Dear 
Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today’s Youth by Rosa 
Parks with Gregory J, Reed, this book received the 
NAACP’s Image Award for Outstanding Literary 
Work, (Children’s) in 1996 and her latest book, I AM 
ROSA PARKS by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, for 
preschoolers.
Source: www.rosaparks.org