Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks Statue (www.bet.com (Natelege Whaley))

     To many people, a hero is often a male who performs a brave deed. To me, a hero is someone, of either gender, who makes a very brave action that changes history. Heroes have courage, determination, hope, perseverance, strong beliefs, compassion, pride, happiness, positivity, wisdom, no fears, creativity, and confidence. A woman named Rosa Parks fits these heroic traits perfectly. She has a unique background, is honored for a very brave act, and even established an amazing institute that educated kids about their culture and nations history. 

Rosa and her family (www.glogster.com (Unknown))

     To me, Rosa Parks is a hero. She was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama, and died on October 24, 2005 at the age of 92 years old in Detroit, Michigan. Her full name is Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, McCauley being her maiden name. Rosa went to school at the Industrial School for girls in Alabama, and then State Teachers College for Negroes. However, she left school at the age of 16 to take care of her dying grandmother, and soon later, her ironically ill mother. Rosa then became a courageous civil rights activist and married Raymond Parks in 1932, who then inspired her to enter school again. After earning her diploma, she then lived as a seamstress.

Rosa with Martin Luther King Jr. in the background (en.wikipedia.org (Unknown))

     According to the website titled the Story Behind the Bus, one day, Rosa Parks was taking the bus home from work. She was seated in the black section of the bus. There were not any white seats left for the man entering the bus, so the driver told to colored people to get up and move. All people in Rosa's section dispersed, except for Rosa and her personal pride. Parks said, "The only tired I was, was tired of giving in." She was then taken to custody and found convicted on December 5 for disobeying the segregation, or discrimination, laws. Soon after this, the local activists formed a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. This posed as a threat to the bus company and the white rule in the city. This Montgomery boycott was lead by Martin Luther King Jr. and lasted about 381 days.

     In December of 1956, the segregation law was declared not constitutional and it was the start of a new era. This new era included the segregation parts of the city (especially buses) had been removed. Rosa then founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute. This institute invited children to come every summer to tour the country in buses, with adult supervision, to be educated about the countries history and the civil rights movement. This wonderful creation was known as Pathways to Freedom.

Happy Rosa Parks (www.nytimes.com (E.R. Shipp))

     Overall, Rosa Parks was an amazing hero who definitely changed American history by her determination and self pride. So, with her unique background, very brave actions, and institution for children, she is much like super woman. Without her bold move, our country would be very different today, and all people would not be treated equally, as they should be. Rosa inspires me to be brave and stand up for what I believe is right, no matter what the consequences may be. What is truly inspiring is that she knew it was against the law and that she would be badly punished for it, but she still fought and was just tired of always giving in. I believe that Rosa Parks inspires others to treat everyone the same, no matter their race, because we are all human and deserve to have equivalent rights.