Rosa Parks was a civil rights icon and activist whose efforts in the 1950s helped launch a major movement in the United States. She spent her life fighting for equal rights.
It isn’t clear what Parks’ last words were before she passed away but it is known that she was surrounded by her close friends in her final hours.
Parks’ life is still celebrated and her efforts to create change are seen as essential in the civil rights struggle.
Rosa Parks’ Early Life
Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a carpenter.
Her parents split when Rosa was young and she grew up on a farm with her grandparents, mother, and brother.
As a child, Rosa was exposed to the systematic racism that plagued the south. She recalled having to walk to school while fellow white students got to ride the bus.
She also remembered the Ku Klux Klan marching down the street in front of her house when she was young. Parks was also the subject of repeated bullying from white kids her age.
Parks would later state “As far back as I remember, I could never think in terms of accepting physical abuse without some form of retaliation if possible.”
Rosa Parks’ Refusal to Move
On December 1, 1955, Parks created a firestorm when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. Her refusal to move was a violation of the law and she was promptly arrested by the police.
Parks was jailed and fined $14.
Parks’ arrest led to a massive bus boycott and was seen as a turning point for the civil rights struggle.
The bus boycott lasted for 385 days and ended with the United States District Court ending racial segregation on all Montgomery bus lines.
The boycott resulted in a new organization to lead the effort, called the Montgomery Improvement Association. The MIA elected the little-known Martin Luther King Jr. as their president.
Parks became more and more outspoken after her arrest and was soon a major figure in the civil rights fight. She would travel the country and speak about her experience for the rest of her life.
Later Life and Struggles
Parks struggled later in life after her arrest and the bus boycott.
Because of economic sanctions leveled against activists, it was hard for Parks to hold a steady job. She lostrod her job at a local department store because of her activism.
Her husband Raymond also lost his job because of his wife and the couple moved to Virginia.
A few years later, Parks and her husband would settle down in Detroit, Michigan where the next stage of her life would begin.
Parks met politician John Conyers, who was running for Congress. When Conyers was elected, he hired Parks as his secretary and receptionist. She would hold that position until 1988.
During her time working for Conyers, Parks continued to speak out and visited hospitals, schools, community centers, and more to connect with Conyers’ constituents.
Parks’ Death and Last Words
Rosa’s husband Raymond passed away in 1977 and Parks moved around to various locations for the remainder of her life. The couple never had any children though they did have a vast network of friends.
Parks’ health declined in her final years and was marked by multiple issues.
On October 24, 2005, Rosa Parks died of natural causes in her apartment in Detroit. She was 92 years old.
She had previously been diagnosed with progressive dementia and had been suffering from it since at least 2002.
Parks was surrounded by her close friends at the time of her passing, according to her lawyer, Gregory Reed, said.
There was no note of her final words at the time of her passing. Those closest to her have not commented on what she said in the last hours of her life.
Kwame Kilpatrick, mayor of Detroit, made a statement saying “I’m only here because of her. She stood up by sitting down.”
Tributes poured forth upon Parks’ death. There were several memorial services for the civil rights icon.
Parks laid in honor at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. 50,000 people came to pay their respects to the late activist.
Parks was the first woman and the second black person to lie in honor in the Capitol.
Parks would be interred between her husband and mother at Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery. The mausoleum she was buried at was later renamed the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel.
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