Short Biography: Rosa Louise Mccauley Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born February 4th, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was born to James and Leona McCauley. Rosa’s childhood was sadly filled with racial discrimination.. Several times, she saw Ku Klux Klan members.. Her parents split in 1915 shortly after her brother Sylvester was born. Rosa moved to her grandparents with her mom and brother in Pine Level, Alabama. She grew up around education since her mom was a teacher. At age 11, Rosa began schooling when she moved back to Montgomery, Alabama. She continued at the Alabama State Teachers’ College for Negroes until she was 16. She had to care for her dying grandmother and shortly after that, her really sick mother.. Rosa didn’t have the best childhood, but no matter what, she was always looking to help someone. When Rosa was 19, she married a barber by the name of Raymond Parks. They were both apart of the National Association for the Advancement of colored people.

On a normal day in Rosa’s life, December 1st, 1955, the 42 year old boarded a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. It was just like any other day, she made her way to the colored section after a long days of work. At one particular stop, a white man entered the
Parks was an administrative aide in the Detroit Office of Congressman John Conyers Jr. She retired in 1988. Her brother, mom, and husband all died within a 10 year span. Rosa started to travel to support civil rights. She wrote her autobiography “Rosa Parks: My story.” In 1999, she received the Congressional Gold Medal.. She received over 43 awards and wrote a total of four books. She was voted by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people. February 4th, 2005, Rosas 92nd birthday was celebrated at a church in Detroit, MI. Students from the public school did a reenactment of her arrest. On the 6th, she received the first annual Cardinal Dearden Peace Award at a catholic church in