Timeline Description: Rosa Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement". This timeline outlines the major events that happened during the lifetime of Rosa Parks.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1913 | Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louis McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4th. Her parents were James and Leona McCauley. James was a carpenter and Leona was a schoolteacher. |
| 1932 | Married Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber, on December 18th. She was 19 years old. |
| 1943 | Forced off of segregated bus Rosa Parks bravely refused to give up her seat to a white man and is ejected from a racially segregated bus. She becomes secretary of the Montgomery NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an organization formed to promote use of the courts to restore the legal rights of black Americans). |
| 1946 | Race Riots The U.S. Supreme Court banned segregation in interstate bus travel on June 3rd. Race riots occur in Alabama and Pennsylvania. The National Committee on Civil Rights is created by President Harry Truman to investigate racism in America on December 5th. |
| 1954 | Racial Segregation in Schools Unconstitutional The United States Supreme Court ruled on May 17th that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. |
| 1955 | Rosa Parks arrested In August, Rosa meets Martin Luther King, Jr. On December 1st, Rosa is arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for not giving her seat to a white passenger on the bus. On December 5th, she stands trial and is found guilty of breaking the segregation laws. The Montgomery bus boycott begins which will last 381 days. |
| 1956 | Buses desegregated On December 21st, the Montgomery buses become desegregated and black passengers could legally take any seat on the city's buses. |
| 1957 | Rosa moves Rosa, her husband, and her mother move to Detroit where she works as a seamstress. In January the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is created to form a strategy for ending segregation. Martin Luther King is elected president. Congress of the United States passes the Civil Rights Act of 1957. |
| 1963 | "I Have a Dream" speech Rosa attends Martin Luther's famous "I Have a Dream" speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th. Rosa Parks speaks at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). President John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22nd. |
| 1979 | Rosa receives award Rosa Parks was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP. |
| 1980 | Awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Award The Detroit News and Detroit Public Schools establish the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation, honoring the 25th anniversary of her stand in Montgomery. |
| 1992 | First Book Rosa publishes her first autobiography, "Rosa Parks My Story." She was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award. |
| 1999 | Awarded the Congressional Gold Medal President Bill Clinton awarded Rosa with the 250th Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor a civilian can receive in the United States. Rosa Parks meets with the Pope in St. Louis and reads a statement to the Pope asking for racial healing. |
| 2005 | Rosa Parks dies Rosa Parks dies in her Detroit home on October 24th. Rosa Parks' funeral service, seven hours long, was held at the Greater Grace Temple Church on November 2nd. She died of progressive dementia. |
| 2006 | statue Statue of Rosa Parks was placed in National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. |