Rosa Parks has been known for decades as the African-American woman who refused to give up her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. The bold move sparked a citywide bus boycott. She is now known as a civil rights activist who was instrumental in the desegregation of public facilities in the South. Parks was not the first black woman to deny her seat to a white man, but she was nevertheless considered an inspiration (Klein 2013). There was something about her immense courage, dedication and pride that made her a leader across the country in a matter of hours. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayRosa Parks was an African-American woman born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1923. Her desire to lobby for civil rights came from her grandparents, with whom she lived as a child. They were former slaves who constantly preached to Parks about the importance of equality. She attended a segregated school, but received a fairly good education. As an adult, she found herself in Montgomery, Alabama, working as a line worker in a textile factory. She began her life as an outside civil rights activist in 1943 by joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also known as the NAACP. She was actively involved in the organization; she was secretary to the president and youth leader throughout the organization. For Parks, if there was a will, there was a way and she was going to change the world by championing civil rights. Parks was a determined, articulate and courageous young woman, willing to do whatever it took to be an equal. On December 1, 1955, Parks boarded a separate bus after a long day of hard work. At that time, the social norm was that white people sat in the front of the bus while black people sat in the back. Parks boarded the bus and sat in one of the seats closest to the front, still reserved for blacks. Once the bus began to fill up, the bus driver realized that several white people were standing, waiting for seats, while many black people were sitting comfortably. At that point, the bus driver asked Rosa to give up her seat to the standing white citizens; Rosa refused. She feels she shouldn't have to give up her seat. Above all, it was wrong to treat one race as inferior to another. But second, Rosa was seated in an “African-American section.” She was sitting where she was told to sit, so why should she get up? The bus driver called local police in Parks and was arrested shortly after the incident, but was released on bail that evening. Parks has since been treated as a hero, but much of the information taught about Parks is incorrect or only speaks the half-truth. The first truth to be told is that Parks is not the first African-American woman who is unwilling to give up her seat. There were three other women before her: Aurelia Browder, Mary Louise Smith and Susie McDonald. The second truth is that this act of civil disobedience was in no way premeditated. Little did Parks know she was going to stand up for a cause she believed in that day. She had just gotten on the bus and didn't want to be disrespected again. The third truth, and perhaps the most important in my opinion, is that Parks did not refuse to give up his place because of his fatigue. She even wrote in her own autobiography: "No, the only thing I wastired, it was that of giving in. » I feel like Parks wasn't taught in her correct historical context because she was supposed to be one of a kind, a true leader. People needed Parks to be the spark of a revolution. If we told people that others had done the same thing as her before and that she had been planning it for months, it wouldn't seem as heroic. I believe that over time the myths continued and began to spiral out of control. Parks was an incredible woman and I am very happy that she was able to start a civil rights revolution, but I also think that her actions were greatly exaggerated. People wanted someone to stand up to abuse, someone who feared nothing but fear itself, and someone who would do what they always couldn't do; they made Parks this woman. After Parks' encounter on the Montgomery bus, NAACP President ED Nixon began organizing a Montgomery-wide city bus boycott with Martin Luther King Jr. as leader. He began placing local advertisements urging other African Americans to stay off all city buses on December 5, 1955; the day of Parks' trial. It was a great success with over 40,000 African American commuters supporting Parks and his actions. Since the initial boycott was so successful, it continued with great success for several months. The buses remained empty and the city began wasting taxpayer money for nothing. There were citywide revolts protesting the boycott, but African Americans persevered. In June 1956, racial segregation was ruled unconstitutional by the Montgomery District Court. Eventually, after the law was passed, bus segregation ended citywide and the boycott continued until December 20, 1956; which lasted a total of 381 days of protest thanks to Parks and his incredible courage. In subsequent years, other campaigns, such as the "Don't Shop Where You Can't Work" campaign, used the Montgomery bus boycott as leverage. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, this campaign was launched to urge black people not to shop at white stores in their neighborhoods where they were unable to work. For these citizens, why bother giving a business to a store when they are ignorant and refuse to let the community work within the business? The NAACP was also behind this campaign; urging citizens to engage in a massive civil rights protest that could change the country, just like the Montgomery bus boycott. Luckily for them, it changed people's opinions, just like the previous campaign. Whites had no choice but to hire blacks for skilled, white-collar positions if they wanted to stay in business. The campaign was a resounding success, once again demonstrating the importance of peaceful protests and Black activism. While dozens of people were involved in the fight against bus segregation in cities across America, the majority seemed to be focused on Rosa Parks. I think it's because Rosa Parks happened to be in the right place at the right time. Parks did this well during the most oppressed era for African Americans in the South. While slavery was undoubtedly an absolute tragedy, there is nothing more frustrating than being told you are free and yet being treated like an inferior being. Parks was fed up and so was everyone else; the only difference was that she decided to take a stand (or rather, sit down). As I mentioned previously, ED.