Rosa Parks

Cecilia Donohue (Independent Scholar - North America)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.5: African American Writing and Culture of the United States.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Philathia Bolton (University of Akron), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Domains

Reform movements and reformers

Dates

Born 4 Feb 1913
Died 24 Oct 2005
Activity 1933-2005

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Cultural Identities

African American

Resources

Parks' Works

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Rosa Parks has never led a Civil Rights March or made a stirring speech to supporters of racial equality, yet she stands as an important, iconic figure in the history of Civil Rights progress in the United States. Her gesture – refusal to give up her seat on a crowded bus in 1955 Montgomery Alabama to a Caucasian male – provided the impetus for the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on segregation laws. Her act of passive resistance continues to inspire people of all colors in the continuing struggle for equality, and, in recent years, her name has surfaced in works of literature and contemporary popular culture.

Born Rosa McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, she was the oldest child and only daughter of James and Leona McCauley. Leona was a teacher, while James worked in

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2267 words

Citation: Donohue, Cecilia. "Rosa Parks". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 January 2004; last revised 10 November 2005. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5606, accessed 23 November 2024.]