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How does Racial Inequality show up in daily life?

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How does Racial Inequality show up in daily life?

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Find all our Student Opinion questions here.
When is the last time you can remember thinking about your racial identity? Was it prompted by something someone said or did? Do you think your experience of race is similar or different from that of your peers?

In " How Much Racism Do You Face Every Day? " Amy Harmon writes about the experiences of 101 black teenagers in Washington, D.C., who were surveyed about how much racism they experience on a daily basis:

Collectively, the 101 black teens participating in the study reported more than 5,600 experiences of racial discrimination over two weeks. That boils down to an average of more than five instances per day for each teenager. That's more than 70 over two weeks.

Those findings may not be surprising to those who face routine discrimination, but they reflect a higher frequency of racism than has previously been reported.

What caused the increase? Researchers say that the study was the first to include so many expressions of racial bias, 58 in all, and to ask participants to record them daily. Previous studies have typically asked participants to recall experiences from the past, which researchers say is not as accurate.

Although there has been an increase in hate crimes during the Trump administration, this study measures incidents that occurred when Barack Obama was in the White House.

The teens who participated in the study were students at a middle school, a high school and a summer program in Washington. Those who experienced more instances of discrimination over the two weeks also showed more symptoms of short-term depression, the study found, such as difficulty sleeping, loneliness and anxiety.

"Part of why these types of microaggressions are so insidious is that a lot of times, white people can see them as not real, or not a big deal,'' said Devin English, a psychologist at Rutgers University who led the study. "But this is showing us the magnitude of the discrimination faced by black adolescents. It's happening all the time. And it's affecting how they feel.''

The article also discusses instances of racial teasing:

Racial teasing is common among adolescents and often it is seen as harmless. But previous studies have shown that it can lead to increases in anxiety symptoms for black adolescents.

In the research team's interviews with black teens, Dr. English said, being teased about hair and skin tone was cited as a frequent way that they were treated differently because of their race.

One black teenager gave an example of being asked by a white friend, "Why don't you like chocolate cake? Is it because it is the same color as you?"

Ms. Harmon looks at what the study found out about the role and effect of microaggressions:

In recent years, social scientists have debated the impact of commonplace, sometimes unintentional expressions of bias known as microaggressions, with some arguing that they represent largely harmless behavior misinterpreted as hurtful.

The study suggests that microaggressions occur an average of several times a week for adolescents, and are linked to an increase in depressive symptoms. One teenager told the researchers that white students expected him to be good at basketball because he was black and tall. Another recalled a teacher telling his predominantly black class "get educated or go to the penitentiary.''

Students,

As you completed the quiz, how did your responses compare with the study average? How does that make you feel? What does it make you think about? At the bottom of the article, there is a list of all 58 questions that the 101 black teenagers who participated in the study were asked. Are you surprised by the average number of times in two weeks that they experienced racism? Why or why not?

When was the first moment that you remember being aware of your race? Was it a conversation or interaction you had with someone else? Did it happen when you became aware of how someone else was being treated?

Have your parents or family members ever talked to you about your racial identity? Are people at your school or in your community comfortable talking about race?

Have you ever been teased or discriminated against because of your race? Have you ever witnessed or been part of teasing or making fun of someone else because of their race? In your experience, is racial teasing common at your school? How do peers, teachers and administrators view racial incidents?

If you do not identify as a person of color, do you ever think about your whiteness? In The Times Magazine piece " White People Are Noticing Something New: Their Own Whiteness," Emily Bazelon explores whiteness in the Trump era:

read the entire article and answer the quiz questions. Then tell us:

Being white in America has long been treated, at least by white people, as too familiar to be of much interest. It's been the default identity, the cultural wallpaper - something described, when described at all, using bland metaphors like milk and vanilla and codes like "cornfed" and "all-American." Grass is green, the sky is blue and, until very recently, a product described as "nude" or "flesh-colored" probably looked like white people's skin.

How often do white people talk about being white? Not often! So long as we aren't hanging out with white nationalists, marrying into a family of color or chuckling over jokes about our dancing, we have endless opportunities to avoid thinking much about our own race. We generally prefer to frame identity in ethnic terms instead: Identifying as Italian or Irish or Jewish seems to come with zest, pathos and a chance to take pride in some shared history.

What do you think? Is it easy not to think about one's own whiteness? Are you comfortable talking about your whiteness and how it potentially affects and interacts with other people's identities? As you reflect on how you scored on the quiz, how does your whiteness relate to the scores you received?

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How Much Racism Do You Face in Your Daily Life? (Published 2020)

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Find all our Student Opinion questions here. When is the last time you can remember thinking about your racial identity? Was it prompted by something someone said or did? Do you think your experience of race is similar or different from that of your peers? In " How Much Racism Do You Face Every Day?

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What actions can individuals take to promote equality?

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What actions can individuals take to promote equality?

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What can be done to promote equality and social justice?

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Answer (1 of 2): There is only one level that all people are equal on, and that is the spiritual level. We are all spiritual living entities, different from the body. There is no material platform on which everyone is equal. There never has been and never will be because materially everyone is d…

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What are some examples of racial inequality that you see in your school or community?

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What are some examples of racial inequality that you see in your school or community?

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Research points ways to start chipping away at bias in schools.

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How can racial inequality be seen at the National level?

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How can racial inequality be seen at the National level?

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I chose Quebec, Ontario for my National level.

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How can racial inequality be seen at the Global level?

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How can racial inequality be seen at the Global level?

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I picked Russia, for my Global level.

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Racism in Russia (Russian: Pacизм в Pоссии) mainly appears in the form of negative attitudes towards non-ethnic Russian citizens, immigrants or tourists and negative actions against them by some Russians. Traditionally, Russian racism includes antisemitism and Tatarophobia, as well as hostility towards the various peoples of the Caucasus, Central Asia, East Asia and Africa.[1]

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Why is it important to address this racial inequality?

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Why is it important to address this racial inequality?

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1. So society is equal.

2. It could have a negative impact on society because of the way people are treated because of their looks.

3. It could create a viscous cycle of leaving people out without addressing the problem.

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Rosa Parks, (born February 4, 1913, Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.-died October 24, 2005, Detroit, Michigan), American civil rights activist whose refusal to relinquish her seat on a public bus precipitated the 1955-56 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama, which became the spark that ignited the civil rights movement in the United States.

Born to parents James McCauley, a skilled stonemason and carpenter, and Leona Edwards McCauley, a teacher, in Tuskegee, Alabama, Rosa Louise McCauley spent much of her childhood and youth ill with chronic tonsillitis. When she was two years old, shortly after the birth of her younger brother, Sylvester, her parents chose to separate. Estranged from their father from then on, the children moved with their mother to live on their maternal grandparents' farm in Pine Level, Alabama, outside Montgomery. The children's great-grandfather, a former indentured servant, also lived there; he died when Rosa was six.

For much of her childhood, Rosa was educated at home by her mother, who also worked as a teacher at a nearby school. Rosa helped with chores on the farm and learned to cook and sew. Farm life, though, was less than idyllic. The Ku Klux Klan was a constant threat, as she later recalled, " burning Negro churches, schools, flogging and killing " Black families. Rosa's grandfather would often keep watch at night, rifle in hand, awaiting a mob of violent white men. The house's windows and doors were boarded shut with the family, frequently joined by Rosa's widowed aunt and her five children, inside. On nights thought to be especially dangerous, the children would have to go to bed with their clothes on so that they would be ready if the family needed to escape. Sometimes Rosa would choose to stay awake and keep watch with her grandfather.

Rosa and her family experienced racism in less violent ways, too. When Rosa entered school in Pine Level, she had to attend a segregated establishment where one teacher was put in charge of about 50 or 60 schoolchildren. Though white children in the area were bused to their schools, Black children had to walk. Public transportation, drinking fountains, restaurants, and schools were all segregated under Jim Crow laws. At age 11 Rosa entered the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, where Black girls were taught regular school subjects alongside domestic skills. She went on to attend a Black junior high school for 9th grade and a Black teacher's college for 10th and part of 11th grade. At age 16, however, she was forced to leave school because of an illness in the family, and she began cleaning the houses of white people.

In 1932, at age 19, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber and a civil rights activist, who encouraged her to return to high school and earn a diploma. She later made a living as a seamstress. In 1943 Rosa Parks became a member of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and she served as its secretary until 1956.

On December 1, 1955, Parks was riding a crowded Montgomery city bus when the driver, upon noticing that there were white passengers standing in the aisle, asked Parks and other Black passengers to surrender their seats and stand. Three of the passengers left their seats, but Parks refused. She was subsequently arrested and fined $10 for the offense and $4 for court costs, neither of which she paid. Instead, she accepted Montgomery NAACP chapter president E.D. Nixon's offer to help her appeal the conviction and thus challenge legal segregation in Alabama. Both Parks and Nixon knew that they were opening themselves to harassment and death threats, but they also knew that the case had the potential to spark national outrage. Under the aegis of the Montgomery Improvement Association-led by the young pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Martin Luther King, Jr.-a boycott of the municipal bus company began on December 5. African Americans constituted some 70 percent of the ridership, and the absence of their bus fares cut deeply into revenue. The boycott lasted 381 days, and even people outside Montgomery embraced the cause: protests of segregated restaurants, pools, and other public facilities took place all over the United States. On November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision declaring Montgomery's segregated bus seating unconstitutional, and a court order to integrate the buses was served on December 20; the boycott ended the following day. For her role in igniting the successful campaign, Parks became known as the "mother of the civil rights movement."

Simplifications of Parks's story claimed that she had refused to give up her bus seat because she was tired rather than because she was protesting unfair treatment. But she was an accomplished activist by the time of her arrest, having worked with the NAACP on other civil rights cases, such as that of the Scottsboro Boys, nine Black youths falsely accused of sexually assaulting two white women. According to Parks's autobiography, "I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was 42. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in." Parks was not the first Black woman to refuse to give up her bus seat for a white person-15-year-old Claudette Colvin had been arrested for the same offense nine months earlier, and dozens of other Black women had preceded them in the history of segregated public transit. However, as secretary of the local NAACP, and with the Montgomery Improvement Association behind her, Parks had access to resources and publicity that those other women had not had. It was her case that forced the city of Montgomery to desegregate city buses permanently.

In 1957 Parks moved with her husband and mother to Detroit, where from 1965 to 1988 she worked on the staff of Michigan Congressman John Conyers, Jr. She remained active in the NAACP, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference established an annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award in her honour. In 1987 she cofounded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development to provide career training for young people and offer teenagers the opportunity to learn about the history of the civil rights movement. She received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1996) and the Congressional Gold Medal (1999). Her autobiography, Rosa Parks: My Story (1992), was written with Jim Haskins.

Though achieving the desegregation of Montgomery's city buses was an incredible feat, Parks was not satisfied with that victory. She saw that the United States was still failing to respect and protect the lives of Black Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr., who had been brought to national attention by his organization of the Montgomery bus boycott, was assassinated less than a decade after Parks's case was won. Biographer Kathleen Tracy noted that Parks, in one of her last interviews, would not quite say that she was happy: "I do the very best I can to look upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I don't think there is any such thing as complete happiness. It pains me that there is still a lot of Klan activity and racism. I think when you say you're happy, you have everything that you need and everything that you want, and nothing more to wish for. I haven't reached that stage yet."

After Parks died in 2005, her body lay in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, an honour reserved for private citizens who performed a great service for their country. For two days mourners visited her casket and gave thanks for her dedication to civil rights. Parks was the first woman and only the second Black person to receive the distinction.

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Rosa Parks | Biography, Accomplishments, Quotes, Family, & Facts

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Rosa Parks was a Black civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man ignited the American civil rights movement. Because she played a leading role in the Montgomery bus boycott, she is called the 'mother of the civil rights movement.'

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What was her early life and childhood like?

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What was her early life and childhood like?

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Early Years

On February 4, 1913, Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama to parents James McCauley and Leona Edwards. Her father was employed as a carpenter and her mother as a teacher. In her younger years she was sick much of the time, and as a result, was a small child. Her parents eventually separated and her mother took her and her brother and moved to Pine Level, a town adjacent to Montgomery, Alabama. There Rosa spent the rest of her childhood on her grandparents' farm.

Her childhood in Montgomery helped her to develop strong roots in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Rosa did not attend a public school until the age of eleven. Before that, she was home schooled by her mother. At age eleven she attended the Industrial School for Girls in Montgomery, where she took various vocational and academic courses. She began laboratory school for her secondary education, but never completed it because she was forced to drop out to care for her ailing grandmother.

Rosa's childhood was greatly influenced by the Jim Crow laws of the South, which segregated white people from black people in almost every part of their daily lives. This included public restrooms, drinking fountains, education and transportation. For the children attending school, there was busing for the white children to their school, but the black children were required to walk to another school. Public transportation followed this line of segregation except that blacks were allowed on the bus as long as they sat in the back, apart from the whites.

Jim Crow Laws

The Jim Crow Laws that segregated blacks from whites were created by white members of the Democratic Party in the Southern states between 1876 and 1963. They created many barriers for black voters and had several regulations including banning interracial marriage and providing racially segregated school systems. This continued existence of this policy created and continued great political tension between the Northern and Southern states, both Democratic and Republican Parties, on the issues of black rights.

This struggle brought to light a landmark piece of legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. President John F. Kennedy met with the Republican leaders on June 11, 1963 prior to his television address that night to discuss the legislation. On June 13, Everett McKinley Dirksen, Senate Minority Leader, and Mike Mansfield, Senate Majority Leader, both voiced support for the president's bill except for provisions guaranteeing equal access to places of public accommodations. This bill was reported out of the Judiciary Committee in November 1963, and referred to the Rules Committee, chaired by Howard W. Smith, an avid segregationist and Democrat from Virginia, indicated his intention to keep the bill bottled up indefinitely.

In late November 1963 the shocking assassination of John F. Kennedy changed the entire political situation. The new president, Lyndon Johnson, used his experience in legislative politics and the "bully pulpit" he wielded as president in support of the bill. President Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964.
Civil Rights Act voting results By party and region:
Note: "Southern" refers to members of Congress from the 11 states that made up the "Confederate States of America" in the American Civil War. "Northern" refers to members from the other 39 states, regardless of geographic location.

The original House version:

Southern Democrats: 7-87 (7-93%) Southern Republicans: 0-10 (0-100%) Northern Democrats: 145-9 (94-6%) Northern Republicans: 138-24 (85-15%) The Senate version:

Southern Democrats: 1-20 (5-95%) Southern Republicans: 0-1 (0-100%) Northern Democrats: 45-1 (98-2%) Northern Republicans: 27-5 (84-16%)
Civil Rights Act voting results By party:
The original House version:

Democratic Party: 152-96 (61-39%) Republican Party: 138-34 (80-20%) Cloture in the Senate:

Democratic Party: 44-23 (66-34%) Republican Party: 27-6 (82-18%) The Senate version:

Democratic Party: 46-21 (69-31%) Republican Party: 27-6 (82-18%) The Senate version, voted on by the House:

Democratic Party: 153-91 (63-37%) Republican Party: 136-35 (80-20%)
The passage of this important legislation then led to the famous Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965. Voting Rights Act voting results By party:
The two numbers in each line of this list refer to the number of representatives voting in favor and against the act, respectively.

Senate: 77-19

Democrats: 47-17 (73%-27%) Republicans: 30-2 (94%-6%) House: 333-85

Democrats: 221-61 (78%-22%) Republicans: 112-24 (82%-18%) Voting Rights Act Conference Report:

Senate: 79-18

Democrats: 49-17 (four Southern Democrats voted in favor: Albert Gore, Sr., Ross Bass, George Smathers and Ralph Yarborough). Republicans: 30-1 (the lone nay was Strom Thurmond; John Tower who did not vote was paired as a nay vote with Eugene McCarthy who would have voted in favor.) House: 328-74

Democrats: 217-54 Republicans: 111-20

The Ku Klux Klan

In her autobiography, Rosa recalls her grandfather standing at the front door of the farmhouse with a loaded shotgun in his hand while he watched as the Ku Klux Klan marched down their street. As frightening as this was to her as a little girl, it taught her much about the very real prejudices against blacks in American culture.

On the other hand, she also tells of the many white people who were kind to her and her family as she grew up. Although aware of the prejudices of most of the white people in the South, she refused to allow it to taint her attitude towards the goodness of mankind. She attributes much of this to her strong faith in God and reliance on her church in times of tribulation.

In 1932 Rosa Louis McCauley became Mrs. Raymond Parks in a small ceremony performed at her mother's home in Montgomery, Alabama. Her husband, a Montgomery barber, encouraged Rosa to finish her high school classes and get her high school diploma, which she successfully accomplished in 1933. She also managed to register to vote, after only three tries.

Rosa joined her husband in their fight to raise money for the defense of the "Scottsboro Boys", a group of black men who had been falsely accused of raping two white women. After many years of influence by her husband, who was already a member, Rosa joined the NAACP in 1943 and was made the secretary to its president, Edgar Nixon. Rosa's volunteer position for the NAACP lasted for 13 years. In 1944, Rosa took a job working on the Maxwell Air Force Base. The air force base was considered a federally owned area and segregation was not allowed. This was Rosa's first taste of a life of equality and was a turning point in her attitude towards civil rights. In Rosa's own words: "You might just say Maxwell opened my eyes up."

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Rosa Parks' Early Life and Childhood | Rosa Parks Facts

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On February 4, 1913, Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama to parents James McCauley and Leona Edwards. Her father was employed as a carpenter and her mother as a teacher. In her younger years she was sick much of the time, and as a result, was a small child.

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Rosa Parks with a friend. Photograph, between 1920 and 1930. Visual Materials from the Rosa Parks Papers, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (012.00.00)
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Miss White's Montgomery Industrial School for Girls required its students to wear uniforms and forbade make-up, jewelry, movies, and dancing. Rosa completed ninth grade at Booker T. Washington Junior High in Montgomery and the tenth and eleventh grades at Alabama State Teachers College without these restrictions. She left school before graduation to care for her ailing grandmother. She is shown here as a teenager with a friend.

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Rosa's Education | Early Life and Activism | Explore | Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words | Exhibitions at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

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Showcases rarely seen materials that offer an intimate view of Rosa Parks and documents her life and activism-creating a rich opportunity for viewers to discover new dimensions to their understanding of this seminal figure. The materials are drawn extensively from the Rosa Parks Collection, a gift to the Library of Congress from the Howard G.

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Rosa Louise Parks was nationally recognized as the "mother of the modern day civil rights movement" in America. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest December 5, 1955 that reverberated throughout the United States. Her quiet courageous act changed America, its view of black people and redirected the course of history.

Mrs. Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley, February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was the first child of James and Leona Edwards McCauley. Her brother, Sylvester McCauley, now deceased, was born August 20, 1915. Later, the family moved to Pine Level, Alabama where Rosa was reared and educated in the rural school. When she completed her education in Pine Level at age eleven, her mother, Leona, enrolled her in Montgomery Industrial School for Girls (Miss White's School for Girls), a private institution. After finishing Miss White's School, she went on to Alabama State Teacher's College High School. She, however, was unable to graduate with her class, because of the illness of her grandmother Rose Edwards and later her death.

As Rosa Parks prepared to return to Alabama State Teacher's College, her mother also became ill, therefore, she continued to take care of their home and care for her mother while her brother, Sylvester, worked outside of the home. She received her high school diploma in 1934, after her marriage to Raymond Parks, December 18, 1932. Raymond, now deceased was born in Wedowee, Alabama, Randolph County, February 12, 1903, received little formal education due to racial segregation. He was a self-educated person with the assistance of his mother, Geri Parks. His immaculate dress and his thorough knowledge of domestic affairs and current events made most think he was college educated. He supported and encouraged Rosa's desire to complete her formal education.

Mr. Parks was an early activist in the effort to free the "Scottsboro Boys," a celebrated case in the 1930′s. Together, Raymond and Rosa worked in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP's) programs. He was an active member and she served as secretary and later youth leader of the local branch. At the time of her arrest, she was preparing for a major youth conference.

After the arrest of Rosa Parks, black people of Montgomery and sympathizers of other races organized and promoted a boycott of the city bus line that lasted 381 days. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was appointed the spokesperson for the Bus Boycott and taught nonviolence to all participants. Contingent with the protest in Montgomery, others took shape throughout the south and the country. They took form as sit-ins, eat-ins, swim-ins, and similar causes. Thousands of courageous people joined the "protest" to demand equal rights for all people.

Mrs. Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1957. In 1964 she became a deaconess in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME).

Congressman John Conyers First Congressional District of Michigan employed Mrs. Parks, from 1965 to 1988. In February, 1987, she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development with Ms. Elaine Eason Steele in honor of her husband, Raymond (1903-1977). The purpose is to motivate and direct youth not targeted by other programs to achieve their highest potential. Rosa Parks sees the energy of young people as a real force for change. It is among her most treasured themes of human priorities as she speaks to young people of all ages at schools, colleges, and national organizations around the world.

The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development's "Pathways to Freedom program, traces the underground railroad into the civil rights movement and beyond. Youth, ages 11 through 17, meet and talk with Mrs. Parks and other national leaders as they participate in educational and historical research throughout the world. They journey primarily by bus as "freedom riders" did in the 1960′s,the theme: "Where have we been? Where are we going?"

As a role model for youth she was stimulated by their enthusiasm to learn as much about her life as possible. A modest person, she always encourages them to research the lives of other contributors to world peace. The Institute and The Rosa Parks Legacy are her legacies to people of good will.

Mrs. Parks received more than forty-three honorary doctorate degrees, including one from SOKA UNIVERSITY, Tokyo Japan, hundreds of plaques, certificates, citations, awards and keys to many cities. Among them are the NAACP's Spingarn Medal, the UAW's Social Justice Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non - Violent Peace Prize and the ROSA PARKS PEACE PRIZE in 1994, Stockholm Sweden, to name a few. In September 1996 President William J. Clinton, the forty second President of the United States of America gave Mrs. Parks the MEDAL OF FREEDOM, the highest award given to a civilian citizen.

Published Act no.28 of 1997 designated the first Monday following February 4, as Mrs Rosa Parks' Day in the state of Michigan, her home state. She is the first living person to be honored with a holiday.

She was voted by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most Influential people of the 20th century. A Museum and Library is being built in her honor, in Montgomery, AL and will open in the fall of the year 2000 (ground breaking April 21, 1998). On September 2, 1998 The Rosa L. Parks Learning Center was dedicated at Botsford Commons, a senior community in Michigan. Through the use of computer technology, youth will mentor seniors on the use of computers. (Mrs. Parks was a member of the first graduating class on November 24, 1998). On September 26, 1998 Mrs. Parks was the recipient of the first International Freedom Conductor's Award by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

She attended her first "State of the Union Address" in January 1999. Mrs. Parks received a unanimous bipartisan standing ovation when President William Jefferson Clinton acknowledged her. Representative Julia Carson of Indianapolis, Indiana introduced H. R. Bill 573 on February 4, 1999, which would award Mrs. Rosa Parks the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor if it passed the House of Representatives and the Senate by a majority. The bill was passed unanimously in the Senate on April 19, and with one descenting vote in the House of Representatives on April 20. President Clinton signed it into law on May 3, 1999. Mrs. Parks was one of only 250 individuals at the time, including the American Red Cross to receive this honor. President George Washington was the first to receive the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. President Nelson Mandela is also listed among the select few of world leaders who have received the medal.

In the winter of 2000 Mrs. Parks met Pope John-Paul II in St. Louis, MO and read a statement to him asking for racial healing. She received the NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress in the Television series, TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, "Black like Monica". Troy State University at Montgomery opened The Rosa Parks Library and Museum on the site where Mrs. Parks was arrested December 1, 1955. It opened on the 45th Anniversary of her arrest and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

"The Rosa Parks Story" was filmed in Montgomery, Alabama May 2001, an aired February 24, 2002 on the CBS television network. Mrs. Parks continues to receive numerous awards including the very first Lifetime Achievement Award ever given by The Institute for Research on Women & Gender, Stanford University. She received the Gandhi, King, Ikeda award for peace and on October 29, 2003 Mrs. Parks was an International Institute Heritage Hall of fame honoree. On February 4, 2004 Mrs. Parks 91st birthday was celebrated at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. On December 21, 2004 the 49th Anniversary of the Mrs. Parks' arrest was commemorated with a Civil Rights and Hip-Hop Forum at the Franklin Settlement in Detroit, Michigan.

On February 4, 2005 Mrs. Parks' 92nd birthday was celebrate at Calvary Baptist Church in Detroit, MI. Students from the Detroit Public Schools did "Willing to be Arrested," a reenactment of Mrs. Parks arrest. February 6, 2005 Mrs. Parks received the first annual Cardinal Dearden Peace Award at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Detroit, MI. February 19 - 20, composer Hannibal Lokumbe premiered an original symphony "Dear Mrs. Parks." Mr. Lokumbe did this original work as part of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's " Classical Roots Series." The beginning of many events that will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Mrs. Parks' arrest December 1, 1955.

Mrs. Parks has written four books, Rosa Parks: My Story: by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, Quiet Strength by Rosa Parks with Gregory J. Reed, Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today's Youth by Rosa Parks with Gregory J, Reed, this book received the NAACP's Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, (Children's) in 1996 and her latest book, I AM ROSA PARKS by Rosa Parks with Jim Haskins, for preschoolers.

A quiet exemplification of courage, dignity, and determination; Rosa Parks was a symbol to all to remain free. Rosa Parks made her peaceful transition October 24, 2005.

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Rosa Louise Parks was nationally recognized as the "mother of the modern day civil rights movement" in America. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest December 5, 1955 that reverberated throughout the United States.

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1. What did they do to make a difference?

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1. What did they do to make a difference?

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The article discusses the significant impact of Rosa Parks, often referred to as "the mother of the civil rights movement," highlighting her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On December 1, 1955, Parks famously refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, an act of defiance that sparked widespread protests against racial segregation. Her courageous stand became a symbol of the fight for civil rights and inspired many to join the movement for equality and justice in the United States. The piece emphasizes her legacy and recognition within the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

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2. What did they do to make a difference?

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2. What did they do to make a difference?

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The article from the King Institute provides an in-depth look at the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the American Civil Rights Movement that began in December 1955. Sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, the boycott was a collective action led by figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Improvement Association. It lasted for over a year, highlighting the economic power of the African American community and drawing national attention to the injustices of segregation. The boycott ultimately led to a Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation on public buses unconstitutional, marking a significant victory in the struggle for civil rights.

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

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On 5 December, 90 percent of Montgomery's black citizens stayed off the buses. That afternoon, the city's ministers and leaders met to discuss the possibility of extending the boycott into a long-term campaign. During this meeting the MIA was formed, and King was elected president.

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Were the individual's/group's actions effective?

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Were the individual's/group's actions effective?

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1. Civil Rights Act

2. Montgomery Bus Boycott

3. Lend to voting

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Summary: Bus Boycott Leading to Civil Rights Movement

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Summary: Bus Boycott Leading to Civil Rights Movement

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In 1955, Rosa Parks was sitting on a bus, and when a white man got on the bus and wanted her seat because it was a "white person seat", she didn't move and kept her spot and got arrested for this. Rosa Parks lost her job and was receiving death threats. Then 17, 000 black people boycotted the busing system in support of Rosa Parks; because of this, the Supreme Court forced the city to desegregate its buses.