Rosa Louis McCauley was born in 1913 in Alabama. In her youth, the law in Alabama segregated people of color in all public shared spaces and prevented them their voting rights. In 1943 Parks joined the Civil Rights movement, elected to serve as a secretary in the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She was the first and only woman there at the time, working alongside Edgar Nixon and Martin Luther King Jr. Despite the discriminating law, Parks managed to fulfill her voting right on her third try in 1945. On December 1st, 1955, she refused to give her seat on the bus for a white passenger, as opposed to the rules of the bus company at the time. That single act led to the “Montgomery Bus Boycott” which became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement. Although she wasn’t the first to do so, the NAACP believed that her willingness to become a public figure made her the best candidate to see through the trial awaiting after her arrest for civil disobedience. Parks was found guilty of disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. She appealed her conviction, and by doing so, she formally objected and challenged the legality of racial segregation. She won and that changed everything. From there on, Rosa Parks devoted the rest of her life fighting for civil rights and equality for African-Americans. She worked hard to improve, develop, support, and help the Civil Rights Movement against discrimination and segregation. She was also involved in a great vast of political struggles fighting for equality in all fields of life, from fair housing and equal education, through labor rights and police abuse awareness, to freedom of thought and speech. She co-founded different foundations and non-profit organizations for the cause. Rosa Parks died of natural causes on October 24th, 2005 at the age of 92. On her death many great gestures have been made, such one is the Montgomery and Detroit City official announcement that all the front seats of their buses would have a black ribbon in honor of her memory. Her casket was laid in her church in Montgomery and then flown to be laid in the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington D.C, an honor that was given to few who were not US government officials. She was the first woman to lie in honor in the rotunda.   Dive deeper into the inspiring story of Rosa Parks with our fun and engaging printable worksheet! Available now on Etsy and Teachers Pay Teachers. Read more...