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- By: Richard Rennehan
- And
- Lynda Levy
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- Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913. Her mo=
ther
was a schoolteacher and her father was a carpenter and housebuilder.
Rosa was the great granddaughter of slaves. Soon after birth, her fa=
mily
moved to Pine Level, Alabama. They lived on Rosa’s
grandparents’ small farm where there were cows, chickens, fruit
and nut trees.
- In 1915, Rosa’s brother Sylvester was born. Soon after
Rosa’s father had left. He moved around to find work. While Ro=
sa
was growing up, she hardly saw her father.
- As Rosa grew older she worked on her grandparents farm and in the ne=
arby
cotton fields. In the spring she cleared weeds away. In the fall she
picked cotton.
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- When Rosa was young, discrimination against African Americans was
common. There were Jim Crow laws that kept black people and white pe=
ople
segregated. They were kept apart on streetcars and trains, at parks =
and
drinking fountains, in churches, hotels, theaters, and restaurants. =
Even
the United States Army was segregated. Rosa’s mother taught Ro=
sa
how to read. Then when Rosa was 6 years old, she started first grade=
in
an old one room school for African American children. The school was
open just 5 months a year. The new brick school building for white
children was open 9 months a year.
- School for black children in Pine level stopped after sixth grade, s=
o in
1924 Rosa continued her studies in Montgomery, Alabama. She had to l=
eave
school in 1929 for family illness. Rosa took care of her sick
grandmother , and then for her mother who was ill too. In 1933, Rosa
finished high school.
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- In 1931 Rosa met Raymond Parks. Raymond was a barber and a man activ=
e in
the struggle of African Americans. Rosa was proud that he spoke up f=
or
what he thought was right. In December Rosa and Raymond got married =
in
her mother’s home in Pine Level.
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- In early 1940s,=
Rosa
joined NAACP, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, an organization that worked to end unfair treatment for Afri=
can
Americans and others. Raymond Parks had been a member for a lot of
years. Soon after Rosa joined, she was elected secretary of Montgomery bra=
nch of
association.
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- One day in
1943, Rosa got on front of a crowded bus and paid the fare. The bus
driver , James Blake, told her to get off the bus and get on by the =
back
door. Rosa told the driver why should I get off after I was already =
on?
Rosa thought it was no need to get off the bus after she was already=
on.
Besides that Rosa didn’t think she could get on the bus through
the back door because there was many people blocking the door. Rosa
never got back on the bus. She just waited for the next bus to come.=
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- Twelve years later, on Thursday December 1, 1955, Rosa saw James Bla=
ke
again. Rosa was on her way home from work, Rosa was a tailor’s
assistant at a Montgomery department store. Rosa got on the Cleveland
Avenue bus and took a seat in the middle section. African Americans =
are
allowed to sit in the back and the middle section as long as no white
passengers were left standing there.
- At the next stop, some white passengers got on the bus and because t=
he
bus was crowded, they moved to the middle were Rosa was sitting at. =
The
bus driver told the four African American people in Rosa’s row=
to
get up and move. Three did but not Rosa. She paid the same amount of
money as the white people. She knew it was the law in her town that =
to
give up your seat to white people but she thought the law was unfair.
James Blake called the policemen and Rosa was arrested.
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- On Monday, December 5th, Rosa went to the local court and=
was
guilty of breaking the segregation laws. She was found $10.00 plus c=
ourt
costs. Rosa and the lawyers appealed to a higher count.
- Beginning on the same day, to protest the arrest for Rosa Parks, Afr=
ican
Americans in Montgomery refused to ride on a public bus. They found
other ways to get to work. Many would walk as far as 12 miles.
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- When Rosa was older, she won many awards. She won medals such as the
Spingarn Medal, the Martin Luther King Jr., Nonviolent Peace Prize, =
the
Eleanor Roosevelt Woman of Courage Award, And the Presidential Medal=
of
Freedom.
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- Rosa lived a good and long life but at the age of 92 she knew the day
was coming that her life would end. Rosa died on October 24th=
sup>
2005.
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- We think that Rosa was a good person and had an interesting life. We
think she is very important.
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- We got the picture of Rosa from achievement.org and we got the
information from A Picture Book of Rosa Parks by David A. Adler and
Wikipedia.org
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- We got the Information from Wikipedia.org and A Picture Book of Rosa
Parks.
- Picture of Rosa from achievement.org and smiley from almightydad.org=
.
- Typing by Richard and Lynda.
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