# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary: Definitions & Meanings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The most popular dictionary and thesaurus. Meanings & definitions of words in Learner English with examples, synonyms, pronunciations and translations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. King: Nonviolence is the Most Powerful Weapon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have A Dream Speech

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Try the online quiz, reading, listening, and activities on grammar, spelling and vocabulary for this lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Click on the links above or see the activities below this article:

Your browser does not support this audio player.

READ

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a U.S. holiday that celebrates the birth date of one of America's greatest civil rights leaders. Dr. King's date of birth is January 15th, but the actual holiday is on the third Monday in January. The holiday recognizes the great achievements Martin Luther King made to American society. His leadership in the campaign to achieve equal rights for black Americans changed America forever. His focus on non-violent protests led to new laws that ended racial discrimination in America. The USA became a more equal society. The holiday is only one of four national holidays in America to commemorate a person. This shows just how important Martin Luther King was – one of the greatest Americans ever.

Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. Just 15 years later, in 1983, then President Ronald Reagan signed this holiday into U.S. law. People first observed the holiday three years later, in 1986. At first, the holiday was not popular with all American states. Some didn't like the name and so they called it "Civil Rights Day". However, in the year 2000, all 50 states observed the holiday using its correct name. The musician Stevie Wonder helped the campaign for the holiday. He released a hit single called "Happy Birthday" in 1980. The song made millions of Americans aware of the campaign. Six million people signed a petition for the American Congress to create the holiday. It is still the largest petition in U.S. history in favour of an issue.

Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted sites.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ESL Lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Try the online quiz, reading, listening, and activities on grammar, spelling and vocabulary for this lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Click on the links above or see the activities below this article: Your browser does not support this audio player. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a U.S.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
THE LESSON ON MARTIN LUTHER KING JR_AUDIOACTIVITY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Martin Luther King Jnr. - Match Questions and Answers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reading and listening comprehension review for an online lesson about Martin Luther King Jnr.. Match up questions and answers about Dr King's life and work. Suitable for classroom use or self-study between lessons.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Learn English: Black History - ESL Word Search Puzzle

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Practise spelling English words connected with Black history in the USA with this challenging online word search puzzle. There are 26 words connected with Black History in this online word search puzzle. Can you find them all? Words can go across or down, backwards or diagonally.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Discover how this remarkable woman helped change the lives of millions of African Americans and the history of her country in our Rosa Parks facts...
All people should be treated equally, right? Regardless of where you come from, what religion you follow, where you work, what language you speak or whether you're a boy or a girl. Well, sadly, this isn't always the case, and many groups of people around the world still suffer as a result of prejudices and discrimination.

Thankfully, there are some amazing people who have done incredible things to fight for equality. One such person was a civil rights activist called Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks facts

Who was Rosa Parks?

Full name: Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
Born: 4 February 1913
Hometown: Tuskegee, Alabama, USA
Occupation: Civil rights activist
Died: 24 October 2005
Best known for: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rosa was born in the town of Tuskegee in Alabama, a state in southern USA. Her mother was a teacher and her father a carpenter, and she had a little brother called Sylvester. After her parents separated when she was just a little girl, Rosa and Sylvester moved with their mother to Alabama's capital city, Montgomery.

Rosa loved to learn and studied hard at high school. But, sadly, she had to leave school at 16 to care for her dying grandmother and, shortly after, her very sick mother. When she was 19 years old, Rosa married a barber called Raymond Parks, who encouraged her to return to high school to earn her diploma (an education certificate). And that's just what she did, before beginning work as a seamstress in Montgomery.

Racial segregation

Life for African Americans like Rosa was hard. At the time, the Southern United States operated under the ' Jim Crow laws' - a set of laws introduced in the late 19th century that claimed to give African Americans " separate but equal " status and treatment. But, in truth, there was no 'equality' whatsoever.

Created by white authorities who thought black people's lives didn't matter as much as theirs, these laws enforced racial segregation and allowed for discrimination against African Americans - referred to at that time as "colored" people.

The Jim Crow laws were introduced in different ways from state to state, but there was one common goal - to make sure black citizens and white citizens led very separate lives.

Among other things, they had separate schools, churches, libraries, restaurants, toilets, drinking fountains and waiting rooms. In some areas, there were laws banning black people from sports events and even forbidding them to work in the same office as a white person.

African Americans had far fewer rights, too. Racist laws known as ' Black Codes ' restricted them to low-paying jobs and made it incredibly difficult for them to vote. These laws also meant black people could be arrested for small things.

What did Rosa Parks do?

In the face of such racism, Rosa decided to make a stand for what was right. Together with her husband Raymond, she joined the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), working towards putting an end to discrimination and segregation.

But it was on the 1 December 1955 that Rosa truly sparked change. After a long day at work, Rosa boarded the bus home and took a seat. At that time in Montgomery, seats at the front of buses were reserved for white passengers, and the seats at the back for black passengers.

The bus quickly filled up and when a white man boarded, the driver told the African American passengers to give up their seats for him. Whilst the other black passengers obeyed, Rosa did not. The result? Rosa was arrested by the police and fined for breaking segregation laws! But Rosa refused to pay, and argued that it was the law that was wrong, not her behaviour.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

On news of Rosa's arrest, the black citizens of Montgomery came together and agreed to boycott the city's buses in protest. This meant that from 5 December 1955 (the date of Rosa's trial), African Americans refused to travel on buses. The boycott was managed by an organisation called the Montgomery Improvement Association, for which Dr Martin Luther King Jr was elected as leader.

The protest proved super effective, with more black people participating than had been expected. And since African Americans made up around 70% of bus users, the city's transport services made far less money and began to struggle. But it wasn't an easy protest for the black citizens. Many of them didn't own cars, and so they had to carpool together or walk long distances to get where they needed to go. What's more, the boycott was received with anger by members of the white population, who responded with aggressive and dangerous acts of violence.

Nevertheless, the protesters stuck together and fought for their cause - and on 13 November 1956 their efforts were finally rewarded. After 381 days of boycotting the buses, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's racial segregation laws were 'unconstitutional' - meaning they weren't valid and should not be recognised. In light of such a wonderful victory, Rosa became known as "the mother of the civil rights movement".

Rosa Parks' legacy

Sadly, despite the victory, life wasn't easy for Rosa and her fellow activists after the boycott. Faced with continued violence and threats by angry white groups, Rosa and Raymond moved to Detroit (a city in the northern US state of Michigan), to live with Rosa's brother.

There she continued to promote civil rights and help those suffering from discrimination and injustice. She continued to support the NAACP and many civil rights events, and in 1987 she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development to provide career training for young people in Detroit.

Rosa received numerous awards for her strength, courage and her incredible work for civil rights - including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.

When did Rosa Parks die?

Rosa died of natural causes on 24 October 2005 at the age of 92. But she continues to be recognised all over the world as a symbol of freedom and equality. Today, commemorative statues stand (or 'sit' we should say!) in her honour, to remind us of her remarkable achievements that should never be forgotten.

What do you think of our Rosa Parks facts? Leave a comment below and let us know!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rosa Parks facts for kids | National Geographic Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn all about the African American civil rights activist who fought for equality and freedom in the USA in our Rosa Parks facts...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids learn about the history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Led by Martin Luther King, Jr., African-Americans stopped riding the buses for over a year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Montgomery Bus Boycott

Part of life in the southern states in the 1950's included specific local and state laws that required that Black Americans sit in the back of the bus as well as a requirement that they give up their seats if a white person needed the seat. When Black American women started objecting to this practice, they were arrested and thrown in jail. It wasn't until Rosa Parks, a respectable young black woman, refused to give up her seat so that white man could sit, that sparked the life force of the civil rights movement known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

During this time, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) were looking for ways to protest the unfair treatment of Black Americans in the public transportation system. Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP and on that fateful day in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa refused to move when the bus driver asked her to.

The arrest of Rosa Parks and her placement in jail was the perfect opportunity for the NAACP to start a protest. They created pamphlets and publications requesting that all of the Black Americans in Montgomery boycott (refuse to support) the bus system. Since a majority of the bus riders were Black Americans, they knew this would hit the system where they would notice it. The NAACP suggested that Black Americans walk, take taxis and even not go to work.

The boycott started on December 5, 1955 and continued for 381 days, which was the amount of time it took for the hearing for Rosa Parks. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was considered to be the first large-scale objection to discrimination practices.

The Black American community elected Martin Luther King, Jr to be the lead representative of a new organization, Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). As a well-like Baptist minister, King had the ability to attract crowds and followers and yet maintain a message of peaceful demonstration.

The MIA organization presented the City of Montgomery with their requests for equality, with the intention of continuing the boycott until their requests were met. The initial request did not require removal of the segregation laws, only a request that bus drivers use courtesy, the hiring of black bus drivers and seating based on the first-come-first-serve concept. A later law suit against the city in U.S. District Court, sought to have the busing segregation laws removed.

Since the boycott went on so long, Black leaders organized ways to help get those that were supporting the boycott around. They arranged car pools, the African American taxi drivers reduced their fare to ten cents and people walked in groups together. Black American leaders continued to have rallies and meetings to maintain the support.

It took until June 5, 1956, when a Montgomery federal court passed a ruling that it was against the law to racially segregate any seating on buses and that to do so was a violation of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.

The amendment, which was adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, guarantees that all citizens, no matter what their race, have equal rights and protection under federal and state laws. While the city of Montgomery did try to appeal the law at the U.S. Supreme Court, they lost and on December 21, 1956, the boycott ended.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Montgomery Bus Boycott - History for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Part of life in the southern states in the 1950's included specific local and state laws that required that Black Americans sit in the back of the bus as well as a requirement that they give up their seats if a white person needed the seat.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a major event in the Civil Rights Movement. It occurred in Montgomery, Alabama where the city buses were segregated. Black passengers were required by law to ride in the back of the bus. On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to give her bus seat to a white person. She was arrested and sent to jail. In protest about 40,000 black people boycotted the Montgomery city buses, refusing to ride. The boycott lasted 381 days. On November 13, 1956, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision to desegregate the buses. In response the city of Montgomery passed a law allowing black passengers to sit anywhere on the buses. The boycott ended on December 20, 1956. Many important people in the civil rights movement took part in the boycott. This included Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph Abernathy.

Under the system of segregation used on Montgomery buses, the ten front seats were reserved for white people at all times. The ten back seats were supposed to be reserved for black people at all times. The middle section of the bus consisted of sixteen unreserved seats for white and black people on a segregated basis. White people filled the middle seats from the front to back, and black people filled seats from the back to front until the bus was full. If other black people boarded the bus, they were required to stand. If another white person boarded the bus, then everyone in the black row nearest the front had to get up and stand so that a new row for white people could be created; it was illegal for white and black people to sit next to each other. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white person, she was sitting in the first row of the middle section.

Often when boarding the buses, black people were required to pay at the front, get off, and reenter the bus through a separate door at the back. Occasionally, bus drivers would drive away before black passengers were able to reboard. National City Lines owned the Montgomery Bus Line at the time of the Montgomery bus boycott. Under the leadership of Walter Reuther, the United Auto Workers donated almost $5,000 (equivalent to $51,000 in 2022) to the boycott's organizing committee.

Rosa Parks (February 4, 1913 - October 24, 2005) was a seamstress by profession; she was also the secretary for the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. Twelve years before her history-making arrest, Parks was stopped from boarding a city bus by driver James F. Blake, who ordered her to board at the rear door and then drove off without her. Parks vowed never again to ride a bus driven by Blake.

In 1955, Parks completed a course in "Race Relations" at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, where nonviolent civil disobedience had been discussed as a tactic. On December 1, 1955, Parks was sitting in the foremost row in which black people could sit (in the middle section). When a white man boarded the bus, the bus driver told everyone in her row to move back. At that moment, Parks realized that she was again on a bus driven by Blake. While all of the other black people in her row complied, Parks refused, and she was arrested for failing to obey the driver's seat assignments, as city ordinances did not explicitly mandate segregation but did give the bus driver authority to assign seats. Found guilty on December 5, Parks was fined $10 plus a court cost of $4 (combined total equivalent to $142 in 2022), and she appealed.

Some action against segregation had been in the works for some time before Parks' arrest, under the leadership of E. D. Nixon, president of the local NAACP chapter and a member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Nixon intended that her arrest be a test case to allow Montgomery's black citizens to challenge segregation on the city's public buses. With this goal, community leaders had been waiting for the right person to be arrested, a person who would anger the black community into action, who would agree to test the segregation laws in court, and who, most importantly, was "above reproach". When Colvin was arrested in March 1955, Nixon thought he had found the perfect person, but the teenager turned out to be pregnant. Nixon later explained, "I had to be sure that I had somebody I could win with." Parks was a good candidate because of her employment and marital status, along with her good standing in the community.

Between Parks' arrest and trial, Nixon organized a meeting of local ministers at Martin Luther King Jr.'s church. Though Nixon could not attend the meeting because of his work schedule, he arranged that no election of a leader for the proposed boycott would take place until his return. When he returned, he caucused with Ralph Abernathy and Rev. E.N. French to name the association to lead the boycott to the city (they selected the " Montgomery Improvement Association", "MIA"), and they selected King (Nixon's choice) to lead the boycott. Nixon wanted King to lead the boycott because the young minister was new to Montgomery and the city fathers had not had time to intimidate him. At a subsequent, larger meeting of ministers, Nixon's agenda was threatened by the clergymen's reluctance to support the campaign. Nixon was indignant, pointing out that their poor congregations worked to put money into the collection plates so these ministers could live well, and when those congregations needed the clergy to stand up for them, those comfortable ministers refused to do so. Nixon threatened to reveal the ministers' cowardice to the black community, and King spoke up, denying he was afraid to support the boycott. King agreed to lead the MIA, and Nixon was elected its treasurer.

On the night of Rosa Parks' arrest, the Women's Political Council, led by Jo Ann Robinson, printed and circulated a flyer throughout Montgomery's black community that read as follows:

Another woman has been arrested and thrown in jail because she refused to get up out of her seat on the bus for a white person to sit down. It is the second time since the Claudette Colvin case that a Negro woman has been arrested for the same thing. This has to be stopped. Negroes have rights too, for if Negroes did not ride the buses, they could not operate. Three-fourths of the riders are Negro, yet we are arrested, or have to stand over empty seats. If we do not do something to stop these arrests, they will continue. The next time it may be you, or your daughter, or mother. This woman's case will come up on Monday. We are, therefore, asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trial. Don't ride the buses to work, to town, to school, or anywhere on Monday. You can afford to stay out of school for one day if you have no other way to go except by bus. You can also afford to stay out of town for one day. If you work, take a cab, or walk. But please, children and grown-ups, don't ride the bus at all on Monday. Please stay off all buses Monday.

The next morning there was a meeting led by the new Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) head, King, where a group of 16 to 18 people gathered at the Mt. Zion Church to discuss boycott strategies. At that time Rosa Parks was introduced but not asked to speak, despite a standing ovation and calls from the crowd for her to speak; she asked someone if she should say something, but they replied, "Why, you've said enough." A citywide boycott of public transit was proposed, with three demands: 1) courteous treatment by bus operators, 2) passengers seated on a first-come, first-served basis, with black people seated in the back half and white people seated in the front half, and 3) black people would be employed as bus operators on routes predominately taken by black people.

This demand was a compromise for the leaders of the boycott, who believed that the city of Montgomery would be more likely to accept it rather than a demand for full integration of the buses. In this respect, the MIA leaders followed the pattern of 1950s boycott campaigns in the Deep South, including the successful boycott a few years earlier of service stations in Mississippi for refusing to provide restrooms for Black people.

The MIA's demand for a fixed dividing line was to be supplemented by a requirement that all bus passengers receive courteous treatment by bus operators, be seated on a first-come, first-served basis, and that Black people be employed as bus drivers. The proposal was passed, and the boycott was to commence the following Monday. To publicize the impending boycott it was advertised at black churches throughout Montgomery the following Sunday.

On Saturday, December 3, it was evident that the black community would support the boycott, and very few Black people rode the buses that day. On December 5, a mass meeting was held at the Holt Street Baptist Church to determine if the protest would continue. Given twenty minutes notice, King gave a speech asking for a bus boycott and attendees enthusiastically agreed. Starting December 7, J Edgar Hoover's FBI noted the "agitation among negroes" and tried to find "derogatory information" about King.

The boycott proved extremely effective, with enough riders lost to the city transit system to cause serious economic distress. Martin Luther King later wrote, "[a] miracle had taken place." Instead of riding buses, boycotters organized a system of carpools, with car owners volunteering their vehicles or themselves driving people to various destinations. Some white housewives also drove their black domestic servants to work. When the city pressured local insurance companies to stop insuring cars used in the carpools, the boycott leaders arranged policies at Lloyd's of London.

Black taxi drivers charged ten cents per ride, a fare equal to the cost to ride the bus, in support of the boycott. When word of this reached city officials on December 8, the order went out to fine any cab driver who charged a rider less than 45 cents. In addition to using private motor vehicles, some people used non-motorized means to get around, such as cycling, walking, or even riding mules or driving horse-drawn buggies. Some people also hitchhiked. During rush hours, sidewalks were often crowded. As the buses received few, if any, passengers, their officials asked the City Commission to allow stopping service to black communities. Across the nation, black churches raised money to support the boycott and collected new and slightly used shoes to replace the tattered footwear of Montgomery's black citizens, many of whom walked everywhere rather than ride the buses and submit to Jim Crow laws.

In response, opposing whites swelled the ranks of the White Citizens' Council, the membership of which doubled during the course of the boycott. The councils sometimes resorted to violence: King's and Abernathy's houses were firebombed, as were four black Baptist churches. Boycotters were often physically attacked. After the attack at King's house, he gave a speech to the 300 angry African Americans who had gathered outside. He said:

If you have weapons, take them home; if you do not have them, please do not seek to get them. We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence. We must meet violence with nonviolence. Remember the words of Jesus: "He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword". We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us. We must make them know that we love them. Jesus still cries out in words that echo across the centuries: "Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you". This is what we must live by. We must meet hate with love. Remember, if I am stopped, this movement will not stop, because God is with the movement. Go home with this glowing faith and this radiant assurance.

King and 88 other boycott leaders and carpool drivers were indicted for conspiring to interfere with a business under a 1921 ordinance. Rather than wait to be arrested, they turned themselves in as an act of defiance.

King was ordered to pay a $500 fine or serve 386 days in jail. He ended up spending two weeks in jail. The move backfired by bringing national attention to the protest. King commented on the arrest by saying: "I was proud of my crime. It was the crime of joining my people in a nonviolent protest against injustice."

Also important during the bus boycott were grassroots activist groups that helped to catalyze both fund-raising and morale. Groups such as the Club from Nowhere helped to sustain the boycott by finding new ways of raising money and offering support to boycott participants. Many members of these organizations were women and their contributions to the effort have been described by some as essential to the success of the bus boycott.

Pressure increased across the country. The related civil suit was heard in federal district court and, on June 5, 1956, the court ruled in Browder v. Gayle (1956) that Alabama's racial segregation laws for buses were unconstitutional. As the state appealed the decision, the boycott continued. The case moved on to the United States Supreme Court. On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court upheld the district court's ruling.

The bus boycott officially ended on December 20, 1956, after 382 days, with Day 1 being December 5, 1955. The Montgomery bus boycott resounded far beyond the desegregation of public buses. It stimulated activism and participation from the South in the national Civil Rights Movement and gave King national attention as a rising leader.

In Spanish: Boicot de autobuses de Montgomery para niños

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn Montgomery Bus Boycott facts for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia > Montgomery Bus Boycott

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia > Montgomery Bus Boycott

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids learn about the biography of Rosa Parks, civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat on the bus.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Discover how this remarkable woman helped change the lives of millions of African Americans and the history of her country in our Rosa Parks facts...
All people should be treated equally, right? Regardless of where you come from, what religion you follow, where you work, what language you speak or whether you're a boy or a girl. Well, sadly, this isn't always the case, and many groups of people around the world still suffer as a result of prejudices and discrimination.

Thankfully, there are some amazing people who have done incredible things to fight for equality. One such person was a civil rights activist called Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks facts

Who was Rosa Parks?

Full name: Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
Born: 4 February 1913
Hometown: Tuskegee, Alabama, USA
Occupation: Civil rights activist
Died: 24 October 2005
Best known for: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Rosa was born in the town of Tuskegee in Alabama, a state in southern USA. Her mother was a teacher and her father a carpenter, and she had a little brother called Sylvester. After her parents separated when she was just a little girl, Rosa and Sylvester moved with their mother to Alabama's capital city, Montgomery.

Rosa loved to learn and studied hard at high school. But, sadly, she had to leave school at 16 to care for her dying grandmother and, shortly after, her very sick mother. When she was 19 years old, Rosa married a barber called Raymond Parks, who encouraged her to return to high school to earn her diploma (an education certificate). And that's just what she did, before beginning work as a seamstress in Montgomery.

Racial segregation

Life for African Americans like Rosa was hard. At the time, the Southern United States operated under the ' Jim Crow laws' - a set of laws introduced in the late 19th century that claimed to give African Americans " separate but equal " status and treatment. But, in truth, there was no 'equality' whatsoever.

Created by white authorities who thought black people's lives didn't matter as much as theirs, these laws enforced racial segregation and allowed for discrimination against African Americans - referred to at that time as "colored" people.

The Jim Crow laws were introduced in different ways from state to state, but there was one common goal - to make sure black citizens and white citizens led very separate lives.

Among other things, they had separate schools, churches, libraries, restaurants, toilets, drinking fountains and waiting rooms. In some areas, there were laws banning black people from sports events and even forbidding them to work in the same office as a white person.

African Americans had far fewer rights, too. Racist laws known as ' Black Codes ' restricted them to low-paying jobs and made it incredibly difficult for them to vote. These laws also meant black people could be arrested for small things.

What did Rosa Parks do?

In the face of such racism, Rosa decided to make a stand for what was right. Together with her husband Raymond, she joined the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), working towards putting an end to discrimination and segregation.

But it was on the 1 December 1955 that Rosa truly sparked change. After a long day at work, Rosa boarded the bus home and took a seat. At that time in Montgomery, seats at the front of buses were reserved for white passengers, and the seats at the back for black passengers.

The bus quickly filled up and when a white man boarded, the driver told the African American passengers to give up their seats for him. Whilst the other black passengers obeyed, Rosa did not. The result? Rosa was arrested by the police and fined for breaking segregation laws! But Rosa refused to pay, and argued that it was the law that was wrong, not her behaviour.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

On news of Rosa's arrest, the black citizens of Montgomery came together and agreed to boycott the city's buses in protest. This meant that from 5 December 1955 (the date of Rosa's trial), African Americans refused to travel on buses. The boycott was managed by an organisation called the Montgomery Improvement Association, for which Dr Martin Luther King Jr was elected as leader.

The protest proved super effective, with more black people participating than had been expected. And since African Americans made up around 70% of bus users, the city's transport services made far less money and began to struggle. But it wasn't an easy protest for the black citizens. Many of them didn't own cars, and so they had to carpool together or walk long distances to get where they needed to go. What's more, the boycott was received with anger by members of the white population, who responded with aggressive and dangerous acts of violence.

Nevertheless, the protesters stuck together and fought for their cause - and on 13 November 1956 their efforts were finally rewarded. After 381 days of boycotting the buses, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's racial segregation laws were 'unconstitutional' - meaning they weren't valid and should not be recognised. In light of such a wonderful victory, Rosa became known as "the mother of the civil rights movement".

Rosa Parks' legacy

Sadly, despite the victory, life wasn't easy for Rosa and her fellow activists after the boycott. Faced with continued violence and threats by angry white groups, Rosa and Raymond moved to Detroit (a city in the northern US state of Michigan), to live with Rosa's brother.

There she continued to promote civil rights and help those suffering from discrimination and injustice. She continued to support the NAACP and many civil rights events, and in 1987 she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development to provide career training for young people in Detroit.

Rosa received numerous awards for her strength, courage and her incredible work for civil rights - including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.

When did Rosa Parks die?

Rosa died of natural causes on 24 October 2005 at the age of 92. But she continues to be recognised all over the world as a symbol of freedom and equality. Today, commemorative statues stand (or 'sit' we should say!) in her honour, to remind us of her remarkable achievements that should never be forgotten.

What do you think of our Rosa Parks facts? Leave a comment below and let us know!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rosa Parks facts for kids | National Geographic Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn all about the African American civil rights activist who fought for equality and freedom in the USA in our Rosa Parks facts...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 - October 24, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist. She has been called "the mother of the modern-day American civil rights movement" and "the mother of the freedom movement." She was a member of the local chapter of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Parks is best known for what she did in her hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. While she sat in a seat in the middle of the bus behind the 10 front seats that were saved for white passengers, the bus driver told her to move to the back of the bus so a white passenger could take the seat toward the middle of the bus. During this time, when the seats reserved for white people on a bus were full, black people were told to get up from their seats. Parks refused to move. Like so many others, she was tired of being treated as a lower-class person because of her skin color.

Early Years

Rosa's father left home to find work when she was 2 years old. Her mother taught school in another town. Rosa and her brother Sylvester were raised by their grandparents.

Rosa started school in 1919 when she was 6 years old. At that time, schools were segregated. There were schools for black children and schools for white children. Later, Parks remembered how buses took white students to their school, but black students had to walk to theirs:

I'd see the bus pass every day... But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.

In 1924, she went to the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls in Montgomery, Alabama. After 5 years, she left school and went to work in a shirt factory. She also took care of her grandmother.

In 1932, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber from Montgomery. Rosa worked many jobs, ranging from domestic worker to hospital aide. At her husband's urging, she finished her high school studies in 1933.

On December 1, 1955, Parks got onto a city bus to go home after work. She paid her 10¢ and sat down in the first row of seats behind the painted line on the floor that marked the beginning of the "colored" section. After several stops, more white passengers got on the bus and filled the first 10 seats that were saved for white passengers. The bus driver ordered Parks and three other black people to give up their seats so the rest of the white people could sit down closer to the front of the bus. The other three black people moved to the back of the bus, but Parks slid over to the window. She said she was following the law by sitting in the right section of the bus.

The driver stopped the bus and called the police. Two police officers arrested Parks and took her to jail for violating Alabama's bus laws.

Her mother called upon Edgar Nixon to bail her out. Nixon was the president of the local NAACP chapter. Rosa was a member of that chapter and Nixon's secretary. Nixon knew the danger Parks was in and immediately arranged her bail.

The local NAACP had been looking for a test case to challenge the bus segregation laws. Parks was a respected working woman. She was well-spoken, and her case would be a good way to challenge the law. It was decided that on December 5, the day that Rosa was scheduled to appear in court, a boycott of all the buses in Montgomery would be held.

The word was spread throughout the black community of the intended bus boycott. Black ministers told their congregations to support the boycott. On Monday, December 5th, Rosa Parks appeared in court and black passengers stayed off the Montgomery buses. The streets of Montgomery were filled with black people walking. That same morning, all Montgomery buses were assigned two motorcycle policemen to guard against any black gangs scaring passengers. There were no black gangs. The black community simply cooperated with the boycott. The buses remained empty all day. White passengers who feared trouble stayed off the buses as well.

Parks appealed her conviction. Her attorney, Fred Gray, and others in the NAACP brought an appeal named Browder v. Gayle. The appeals court ruled on June 19, 1956, in favor of the black citizens of Montgomery. The city, however, asked the Supreme Court to review the decision.

On September 13, 1956, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the appeals court's ruling. After 381 days, the bus boycott ended. Black citizens of Montgomery could ride the buses and sit where they chose. Rosa Parks rode the bus again on December 21, 1956. This time it was an integrated bus. Ironically, she had the same bus driver who had her arrested the year before. In an interview, Parks said, "He didn't react (pause) and neither did I."

After the Boycott

After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Parks went through many difficulties. She lost her job at the department store. Her husband was forced to quit his job.

In 1957, Parks and her husband left Montgomery for Hampton, Virginia, to find work. In Hampton, Parks found a job as a hostess in an inn at Hampton Institute, a historically black college.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded Parks a Congressional Gold Medal. This is the United States' highest honor (most important award) for civilians.

Rosa and her husband Raymond never had children. They spent their entire lives dedicated to each other, their respective careers, and civil rights activities.

Parks died on October 24, 2005, at her home in Detroit due to dementia. On October 30, her casket lay in honor in the United States Capitol. This is a great honor for people in the United States.

Rosa Parks is still considered a heroine of the black community. While she didn't do it alone, her actions sparked a fire that led to great changes.

Rosa Parks quotes

"You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right."

"Each person must live their life as a model for others."

"I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move."

"Differences of race, nationality, or religion should not be used to deny any human being citizenship rights or privileges."

"I believe there is only one race - the human race."

"The only tired I was, was tired of giving in."

Interesting Facts about Rosa Parks

Rosa earned her high school diploma at a time when less than 7% of African Americans earned them.

Rosa Parks was an activist for civil rights 12 years before she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger.

The bus driver, James Blake, had driven away without her on purpose 12 years before she refused to give up her seat.

Rosa Parks was not the first person to refuse to give up her seat on a Montgomery public bus. 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was the first to be arrested for refusing to give up her seat and Parks was involved in raising funds for Colvin's defense.

Parks was not physically tired when she refused to give up her seat. She explained that she was "tired of giving in."

Rosa Parks became the secretary of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP and served on the board of Planned Parenthood.

Rosa Parks and her husband, along with her mother, moved to Detroit.

Bus seats were left empty in New York City, Washington, D.C., and other cities on the 50th anniversary of Rosa's arrest to honor her and the results of her civil disobedience.

Questions kids ask about Rosa Parks

What is Rosa Parks famous for?
When she refused to give her bus seat to a white man, she helped initiate the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

How is Rosa Parks a hero?
She was brave to peacefully refuse to leave her seat. She knew it wasn't right for her to have to give up her seat to a white passenger, but she also knew she would probably be arrested.

What was Rosa Parks's job?
Rosa Parks worked as a seamstress. She worked at the Montgomery Fair department store and was going home from there on the day she was arrested.

Why did Rosa Parks not give up her seat?
She was tired of having to give up a seat for which she had paid. She believed she shouldn't have to move just because of her race.

Where is Rosa Parks buried?
Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan), United States.

What did the Montgomery bus boycott lead to?
The boycott led to the Supreme Court declaring that Montgomery's segregation laws on buses were unconstitutional.

What is Rosa Parks's full name?
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks.

Who did Rosa Parks marry?
Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber, in 1932.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Rosa Parks para niños

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 - October 24, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist. She has been called "the mother of the modern-day American civil rights movement" and "the mother of the freedom movement." She was a member of the local chapter of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Parks is best known for what she did in her hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. While she sat in a seat in the middle of the bus behind the 10 front seats that were saved for white passengers, the bus driver told her to move to the back of the bus so a white passenger could take the seat toward the middle of the bus. During this time, when the seats reserved for white people on a bus were full, black people were told to get up from their seats. Parks refused to move. Like so many others, she was tired of being treated as a lower-class person because of her skin color.

Early Years

Rosa's father left home to find work when she was 2 years old. Her mother taught school in another town. Rosa and her brother Sylvester were raised by their grandparents.

Rosa started school in 1919 when she was 6 years old. At that time, schools were segregated. There were schools for black children and schools for white children. Later, Parks remembered how buses took white students to their school, but black students had to walk to theirs:

I'd see the bus pass every day... But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.

In 1924, she went to the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls in Montgomery, Alabama. After 5 years, she left school and went to work in a shirt factory. She also took care of her grandmother.

In 1932, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber from Montgomery. Rosa worked many jobs, ranging from domestic worker to hospital aide. At her husband's urging, she finished her high school studies in 1933.

On December 1, 1955, Parks got onto a city bus to go home after work. She paid her 10¢ and sat down in the first row of seats behind the painted line on the floor that marked the beginning of the "colored" section. After several stops, more white passengers got on the bus and filled the first 10 seats that were saved for white passengers. The bus driver ordered Parks and three other black people to give up their seats so the rest of the white people could sit down closer to the front of the bus. The other three black people moved to the back of the bus, but Parks slid over to the window. She said she was following the law by sitting in the right section of the bus.

The driver stopped the bus and called the police. Two police officers arrested Parks and took her to jail for violating Alabama's bus laws.

Her mother called upon Edgar Nixon to bail her out. Nixon was the president of the local NAACP chapter. Rosa was a member of that chapter and Nixon's secretary. Nixon knew the danger Parks was in and immediately arranged her bail.

The local NAACP had been looking for a test case to challenge the bus segregation laws. Parks was a respected working woman. She was well-spoken, and her case would be a good way to challenge the law. It was decided that on December 5, the day that Rosa was scheduled to appear in court, a boycott of all the buses in Montgomery would be held.

The word was spread throughout the black community of the intended bus boycott. Black ministers told their congregations to support the boycott. On Monday, December 5th, Rosa Parks appeared in court and black passengers stayed off the Montgomery buses. The streets of Montgomery were filled with black people walking. That same morning, all Montgomery buses were assigned two motorcycle policemen to guard against any black gangs scaring passengers. There were no black gangs. The black community simply cooperated with the boycott. The buses remained empty all day. White passengers who feared trouble stayed off the buses as well.

Parks appealed her conviction. Her attorney, Fred Gray, and others in the NAACP brought an appeal named Browder v. Gayle. The appeals court ruled on June 19, 1956, in favor of the black citizens of Montgomery. The city, however, asked the Supreme Court to review the decision.

On September 13, 1956, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the appeals court's ruling. After 381 days, the bus boycott ended. Black citizens of Montgomery could ride the buses and sit where they chose. Rosa Parks rode the bus again on December 21, 1956. This time it was an integrated bus. Ironically, she had the same bus driver who had her arrested the year before. In an interview, Parks said, "He didn't react (pause) and neither did I."

After the Boycott

After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Parks went through many difficulties. She lost her job at the department store. Her husband was forced to quit his job.

In 1957, Parks and her husband left Montgomery for Hampton, Virginia, to find work. In Hampton, Parks found a job as a hostess in an inn at Hampton Institute, a historically black college.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded Parks a Congressional Gold Medal. This is the United States' highest honor (most important award) for civilians.

Rosa and her husband Raymond never had children. They spent their entire lives dedicated to each other, their respective careers, and civil rights activities.

Parks died on October 24, 2005, at her home in Detroit due to dementia. On October 30, her casket lay in honor in the United States Capitol. This is a great honor for people in the United States.

Rosa Parks is still considered a heroine of the black community. While she didn't do it alone, her actions sparked a fire that led to great changes.

Rosa Parks quotes

"You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right."

"Each person must live their life as a model for others."

"I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move."

"Differences of race, nationality, or religion should not be used to deny any human being citizenship rights or privileges."

"I believe there is only one race - the human race."

"The only tired I was, was tired of giving in."

Interesting Facts about Rosa Parks

Rosa earned her high school diploma at a time when less than 7% of African Americans earned them.

Rosa Parks was an activist for civil rights 12 years before she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger.

The bus driver, James Blake, had driven away without her on purpose 12 years before she refused to give up her seat.

Rosa Parks was not the first person to refuse to give up her seat on a Montgomery public bus. 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was the first to be arrested for refusing to give up her seat and Parks was involved in raising funds for Colvin's defense.

Parks was not physically tired when she refused to give up her seat. She explained that she was "tired of giving in."

Rosa Parks became the secretary of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP and served on the board of Planned Parenthood.

Rosa Parks and her husband, along with her mother, moved to Detroit.

Bus seats were left empty in New York City, Washington, D.C., and other cities on the 50th anniversary of Rosa's arrest to honor her and the results of her civil disobedience.

Questions kids ask about Rosa Parks

What is Rosa Parks famous for?
When she refused to give her bus seat to a white man, she helped initiate the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

How is Rosa Parks a hero?
She was brave to peacefully refuse to leave her seat. She knew it wasn't right for her to have to give up her seat to a white passenger, but she also knew she would probably be arrested.

What was Rosa Parks's job?
Rosa Parks worked as a seamstress. She worked at the Montgomery Fair department store and was going home from there on the day she was arrested.

Why did Rosa Parks not give up her seat?
She was tired of having to give up a seat for which she had paid. She believed she shouldn't have to move just because of her race.

Where is Rosa Parks buried?
Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan), United States.

What did the Montgomery bus boycott lead to?
The boycott led to the Supreme Court declaring that Montgomery's segregation laws on buses were unconstitutional.

What is Rosa Parks's full name?
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks.

Who did Rosa Parks marry?
Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber, in 1932.

Images for kids

In Spanish: Rosa Parks para niños

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Rosa Parks was an activist in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. She was known with different names 'the first lady of civil rights' and 'the mother of the freedom movement'. She received many awards and honors like the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal.

Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her complete name was Rosa Louise McCauley. She grew up in the southern United States. She attended the Alabama State Teacher's College in order to try and get her high school diploma. She left her education when her mother became ill.
Quick Facts: -

The beginning of civil rights movements in the United States is dated to December 1, 1955, by most historians.

On this day, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger when the white section was filled.

She was sitting in the front row of the middle section of the bus that was open to African Americans if seats were vacant.

Rosa Parks was on the executive board of directors of a group that organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Parks was arrested along with 114 other people.

She was also forced to move from Montgomery after the boycott.

Before this arrest, she was a civil rights activist and a long-time member of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Rosa Parks was not the first African-American who refused to give up her seat during the Jim Crow Era.

A high school student Claudette Colvin was arrested about nine months before Rosa took the step.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rosa Parks was an activist in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. She was known with different names 'the first lady of civil rights' and 'the mother of the freedom movement'. She received many awards and honors like the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hidden Figures| Children's book read aloud

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
advertisement

advertisement

Hidden Figures | 2016 | PG | - 1.3.3

Based on true events: The film relates the untold story of the impact female African-American mathematicians and engineers had on the space race during the early 1960s. With Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge and Glen Powell. Directed by Theodore Melfi. [2:07]

SEX/NUDITY 1 - A man tells a woman, "I think it's high time that I kiss you," and they kiss. A husband and his wife kiss and hug. Men and women dance at a party.
► A woman tries to fix another woman up with a man and she is resistant; the man and the woman flirt in a few scenes. A woman tells another woman that she shouldn't ogle a man and the second woman says, "I have the right to see fine in every color." A man apologizes to a woman for sexist remarks.
► Women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage in a few scenes.

the review continues below...

VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - We see several rocket launches that are unsuccessful and result in large explosions. A capsule in re-entry turns red hot and the astronaut inside is jolted around and complains of the temperature; the command center loses contact with the capsule, then it returns and the capsule splashes into the ocean safely. A police car escorts another car and they speed on a road; the passengers in the car following are uncomfortable with their speed. A test of a rocket begins and a woman is in the area when strong air currents blow and she struggles to get to the door when her shoe heel gets caught (she gets out OK). A woman puts her bare feet on the dashboard of a car and the driver smacks her and tells her not to do that.
► We hear about a bus being fire-bombed. Several men protest peacefully with posters and chanting and police dogs bark at them. An African-American woman and her two young sons are escorted out of a public library. Three women are stranded on the side of the road when their car breaks down and a police officer arrives and asks for their IDs and quizzes them about their activities; he eventually gives them an escort to get to work at Langley. A man pounds on a "Colored" sign hanging over a restroom until it falls to the floor while people watch and he says, "We all pee the same."
► Two men argue about whether a woman should be permitted to attend a meeting. A man reprimands another man in an office setting in a few scenes. A man yells at a woman when she leaves the office for a period of time each day and she explains that she has to find the women's restroom designated for African-Americans that is on the other side of the compound. A man yells at a woman for being in a computer room. A husband and his wife argue over her wanting to be an engineer and wanting to go to college for a degree. A sign reads, "Colored Computers." A woman entering a court room is told, "Colored seats are in the back of the court room." A woman asks her supervisor for a promotion and she is declined. An African-American woman working in an office with only white men serves herself coffee and the men stare at her. A woman tells her employee, "Don't embarrass me" when she is assigned to a more significant job. People working on analytical data are referred to as "computers." A young girl asks her mother if the "Russians are fixin to kill us?" and she and two other girls tell their mother that they are doing bomb drills in school. A comment is made that "Civil Rights ain't always civil." A reference is made to someone's parents having died in concentration camps. We understand that a woman is a widow and she is raising her three daughters alone. Three young girls argue over who gets to sleep in which bed. A man asks a woman if she is a Russian spy. A woman says that she is, "Proud as the devil." We hear that a Russian astronaut has made it to space and an American man says, "They beat the pants off us."
► A woman is shown going into a bathroom stall with some urgency after running a great distance to the bathroom in a few scenes.

the review continues below...

LANGUAGE 3 - 18 mild obscenities, 11 derogatory terms for African Americans (several signs for restrooms, on a coffee pot, etc., contain the word "Colored"), name-calling (commies, dummy), exclamations (heck, what the devil), 10 religious exclamations (e.g. Dear Lord, God, Jesus Christ, Thank You Jesus, Amen, Praise God, Hallelujah, God Speed, Grace Of God, Holy Moses, Lord Knows, several people say a prayer before eating dinner).

the review continues below...

SUBSTANCE USE - Three women drink a beverage from a Bell jar and it is understood that it is a potent liquor (one woman dances and acts inebriated).

the review continues below...

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Racism, segregation, sexism, the space race, spy satellites, IBM computers, NASA, Freedom 7, fairness, freedom, oppression, confidence, disrespect, progress, separate but equal, Brown v. BOE.

MESSAGE - Working together and allowing people to use their skills and abilities can lead to amazing results.

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.

advertisement

advertisement

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hidden Figures [2016] [PG] - 1.3.3 | Parents' Guide & Review | Kids-In-Mind.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Based on true events: The film relates the untold story of the impact female African-American mathematicians and engineers had on the space race during the early 1960s. With Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge and Glen Powell. Directed by Theodore Melfi.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I knew I was going to love Hidden Figures, the new movie about three real-life Black women scientists who were aeronautic pioneers at NASA in the segregated South.

I cried so many tears of joy, my eyes were sore as we left the theater.
Of course, I also cried tears of grief and frustration as I watched the treatment Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan faced in their daily professional lives.
My sons, ages 9 and 12, loved it too. But it didn't strike them as deeply as it did me.

Sure, they have friends of many different races, and we talk about racism and Black Lives Matter.

They know the whole story of the killings of Philando Castile and Tamir Rice. They know the history of segregation and racism.
But they don't know racism. They are little white boys in suburban America.
If anyone could personalize a story for them, I knew it could be Taraji P. Hensen, Janelle Monae (who is amaaaazing), and Octavia Spencer.

That's why I knew I had to take them to see this film.
They need to understand racism better. And they need to see more diverse images of heroes.
And this film does both. The story personalizes racism in a way that kids rarely get to see.

On top of that, these three women were brave- but didn't use their fists to become heroes like Thor or Iron Man.

They used their minds.
And their bravery was in facing real-life challenges. Things that really happened, things that would scare anyone.
These are just a few of the reasons Katherine, Dorothy and Mary are the heroes our kids NEED to see.

These three talented actresses are making history on their own, too. Their film booted Rogue One out of the top spot in its first weekend, and continued to dominate in its second.
What's more, this film stars three Black women, and it is truly their characters' story.
The white men (and woman) in the story are there, but the movie is, in no way, about them.

This is important and remarkable. And let's hope it's the wave of the future.
But you can't just show a movie like this to your white kids and walk away.
The post-movie conversations we have with our kids are crucial.

The way you talk about this movie takes something "fun" and makes it into a potentially life-changing experience.
In that spirit, I've come up with twelve post-movie thought questions to help your kids personalize the story of these three real-life heroes.
Hopefully you'll find them as useful and interesting as we did.

Because this movie is one your kids will probably remember forever, with heroes who weren't trying to be heroes ... they just wanted to do the jobs they dream of, without anyone telling them they aren't allowed.
Thought questions for Hidden Figures: 1. Who was the main hero of the movie?
(Watch out, your white sons will probably say John Glenn - not only because we are socialized to see white people, men in particular, as heroes, but because we also understand "astronaut" = very standard hero figure. This doesn't make your kid bad, but needs to be challenged.)
2. What made Katherine heroic in the movie? 3. What made Mary and Dorothy heroic? 4. What made John Glenn heroic? 5. Name 5 challenges Katherine had to face in the movie.
20th century fox 6. Name 2 challenges Mary and Dorothy had to face. 7. How did being a woman make it harder for Katherine to achieve her goals?
(For older kids, how did Katherine's gender, intersecting with her race, make it doubly hard to do her job?)
8. Name 3 examples of segregation Katherine, Mary and Dorothy faced.
(For younger kids, substitute "unfair treatment" for segregation, but explain the concept.)
9. In what ways would the ladies' lives have been different had they been treated equally their whole lives? 10. How is the world different today than it was then?
(Steer away from answers like "cell phones" and toward social issues).
11. How does the world still have to change more in order to be equal for everyone, regardless of race? 12. How can YOU be like John Glenn, even as a kid, and try to advocate for and lift up others?
*These talking points are aimed at white kids, because my kids are white and this is the conversation I had with them, to help them contextualize the movie. Clearly parents who have children of color will have entirely different conversations, which I can't (and shouldn't) speak toward.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why EVERY White Parent Should Take Their Kids To 'Hidden Figures'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I knew I was going to love Hidden Figures, the new movie about three real-life Black women scientists who were aeronautic pioneers at NASA in the segregated South. I cried so many tears of joy, my eyes were sore as we left the theater.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Based on a true story. A team of African-American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program's first successful space missions. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Talia J. comments, "This absolutely fantastic film will inspire so many people to never give up on their dreams and talents. It shows that you can do anything if you put your mind to it." Arjun N. adds, "The movie has a positive message about never giving up, no matter how much of a struggle. Despite the racist behavior and the challenges of the job, the trio never give up. For example, Katherine is constantly faced with the cold behavior of her colleagues." Morgan B. wraps it up with, "OK, I never have an excuse now. This inspirational movie is about three women who overcame prejudice regarding race, feminism and intelligence." See their full reviews below.

Hidden Figures
By Talia J., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 13

This absolutely fantastic film will inspire so many people to never give up on their dreams and talents. It shows that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

The movie takes place in the 1960s where sexism and racial discrimination is still at a high. There is fear of the Soviet Union since they already have the technology to send astronauts into space, though there is still hope for America. This is a true story which revolves around three extremely intelligent African-American women - Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) who all work for the NASA program. They are the brains behind the launch of astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell). The woman struggle with using their brilliance since they live in a world where the color of their skin defines who they are and who they are not going to be.

The acting is fabulous! Taraji P. Henson is made to play Katherine Johnson. Taraji highlights the braveness and intelligence of her character, adding a bit of a quirky side as well. I feel that I know her character like a friend. Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) is my favorite character out of them all. She has this determination in her that is mind blowing. She can be very serious at times, but one of the most hilarious people at others. Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) definitely takes on the leader role. When watching this film you feel for her struggles and want her to succeed so badly. Octavia brings boldness and sarcasm that just makes you adore her. I felt the strong friendship between these woman.

I could tell how much time was spent in designing the set and costumes. The sets are so realistic that I felt transformed into that time period. I loved looking at the small details added to each set. Renee Ehrlich Kalfus designed the costumes which are so colorful and suit each character perfectly. It is so interesting to see how different the clothes were back then. The costumes helped add to it being the 60s.

My favorite scene is when Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) breaks down the colored woman's bathroom sign to show that everyone can share the same restroom. Al Harrison is the head of the NASA launch program. This is my favorite scene because I loved seeing someone who looked beyond the color of people's skin.

The main message of this film is to never give up on your dreams, even when people tell you that you can't. The three woman look beyond their gender and their skin color. They look at the talents they have. One example of this is when Katherine Johnson is talking to Jim Johnson. Jim is surprised as to why they are having a woman do such important things at NASA. Katherine retorts with an inspiring line "Yes they let women do some things at NASA Mister Johnson. And it's not because we wear skirts. It's because we wear glasses!" I recommend this film for ages 9 to 18. The younger audiences will enjoy learning about the past and be inspired to shoot for the stars. The older audiences will like the comedy and the amazing story. I give this film a 5 out of 5 astronaut stars. It opens in theaters on January 6, 2017 so go check it out!

Hidden Figures
By Arjun Nair, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 15

Hidden Figures is a very inspirational movie. The acting and the informative material impressed me tremendously and the costume design adds to the greatness of this movie.

It is based on a true story is about three African American women living in the 1960s. Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) are gifted in math and science and the three manage to work at NASA. They face many difficulties due to their color and gender. Despite working initially in the segregated computer room, the three manage to help America in the space race which was dominated by Russia. The trio also ensure the entry and the return of John Glenn (Glen Powell), who is aboard the Friendship 7 orbiting Earth.

Taraji P. Henson's acting is extremely powerful as Katherine Johnson. She has the look of a mathematical genius. The scene where she explains her struggles to her boss is my most favorite scene in this movie and it brings out Taraji's excellent acting. Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughn is great at both drama and comedy. Janelle Monae's depiction of Mary Jackson as a determined and steadfast lady is excellent and believable. Kevin Costner is another standout performer as Al Harris, head of the Space Task Group. His caring nature of not being a racist is one of the sides of the character which is presented well, as well as his portrayal of always being focused on the task. Glen Powell brings charisma and respect in the famous astronaut, John Glenn.

Theordore Belfi's direction gives the movie room for all three of the women to show their hardships and triumphs. The music, composed by Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams appropriately enhances the setting of the movie. The costumes, for all the characters, are well designed and really look like attire from the 1960s. My only complaint is that only Katherine Johnson gets a proper back story, explaining her past, but we don't really learn about the background of the other two women. The movie excels at defining the contributions of all three women.

The movie has a positive message about never giving up, no matter how much of a struggle. Despite the racist behavior and the challenges of the job, the trio never give up. For example, Katherine is constantly faced with the cold behavior of her colleagues. I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 7 to 18. The youngest audience members might be a bit bored since this is an informative type of movie, but if they are interested in math, science or history, then they should go and see it. This film is available in theaters January 6, 2017, so go and check it out for an inspirational true story

Hidden Figures
By Morgan Bertsch, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 12

OK, I never have an excuse now. This inspirational movie is about three women who overcame prejudic e regarding race, feminism and intelligence. This is also a story about fear and change. After seeing everything these women overcame my Mom will never let me say "I Can't" again. I learned you can overcome any obstacle.

This film is inspirational, inquisitive and all around fantastic. I love that, along with a magnificent storyline, it also talks about math, technology, NASA, women's rights, discrimination and what life was like in the 1960s. The wonderful technologies we take for granted today were missing such as high speed computers, cell phones, social media, color TV - to name a few. While enjoying the movie I learned about history and how people were afraid of women taking their jobs, because many were threatened because of how talented and brilliant these women were. This is also the period when Martin Luther King became the speaker for Black people as a spokesperson for equal rights. We also get a behind-the-scenes look at NASA and see how they worked during that era and how they did everything without the technology that we have today.

The acting is incredible. Taraji P. Henson (Katherine Johnson) is a pure genius who can do math equations that no one else can. She is very kind at heart and brings this side of herself out in Katherine Johnson. She is powerful in her own way. People tell her that she can't, but she does everything she can to prove them wrong and succeeds. Taraji P. Henson is perfect in this role. She puts her heart and soul into this character. By being herself, you know when she has something to say and you should listen when she talks because she speaks her mind and is always worth listening to. This is a very different role than what she plays on Empire. She is patient in this role but Cookie and Katherine have a goal and do whatever it takes to get to the finish line.

Octavia Spencer (Dorothy Vaughan) is helpful and headstrong. She overcomes many obstacles. She fears that she is going to lose her job and finds a way to educate herself as well as the other women employees so that they remain relevant to NASA. The lesson, which is relevant today, is education matters. Just by reading, she makes a lifetime career for herself doing what she loves.

Janelle Monáe (Mary Jackson) is inquisitive. She has an engineering degree, is brave and determined to accomplish her dreams. One of my favorite scenes is when she has to go to court to get permission to go to school. Kevin Costner (Al Harrison) is the Boss. He only cares about one thing, beating the Russians and getting a rocket up into space. He wants the best for NASA and the astronauts. Just his name tells you his acting is A+. Jim Parsons (Paul Stafford) is very down to earth and does everything he can to make sure that the women know they are not wanted. This is a very different role than his character on the Big Bang Theory or the animated film Home. He is actually the villain here, who dislikes working women and people of color.

The film includes pictures and videos of the original rocket ships from the 1960s. The perspective from the astronaut's point of view is also featured. It is difficult for NASA to go into space and watching some of that actual footage reminds me that our true history and it took place not that long ago. The Race To Space with Russia is a wonderful story. I had no idea that women were involved with NASA's success. JFK, Martin Luther King, signs for white and black bathrooms, and protesters all add to this amazingly true storyline. Be sure to watch the end to find out what actually happened to all the characters in real life. The film is rating PG-13 but younger kids will love learning about rocket ships and how they were made. History is always easier to learn and remember when it is told in the form of a great story and this is one they will remember.

I recommend this for ages 9 to 18. You should know that there is mild profanity but, the whole story is so different from the life we have today. This film shows how much we have learned and grown since the 1960s. I found this film very interesting and intriguing and appreciate how beautifully constructed it is. Hidden Figures open nationwide January at a theater near you be sure to check out this dramatic and historical film.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival is a showcase for new and classic children's films, TV shows and DVDs from studios, independent producers and youth producers worldwide that travels to more than 100 venues annually and has more than 10,000 screenings of individual titles throughout the year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Malcolm X Biography for Kids: Black History Month for Children (Educational Videos for Students)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids learn about the biography of Malcolm X including his early life, joining the Nation of Islam, becoming a leader, the civil rights movement, and assassination.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
African American World for Kids . E-Cards | PBS KIDS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Malcolm X was a very passionate defender of African Americans' civil rights. He was the leader of the Nation of Islam, a group that believed African Americans should form a separate nation from white Americans. Malcolm believed that African Americans should not be afraid to do whatever it takes to defend their rights, including the use of violence.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In his account of his India tour published in Ebony magazine, King notes that Gandhi's spirit is still alive, though "some of his disciples have misgivings about this when . . . they look around and find nobody today who comes near the stature of the Mahatma." Lamenting India's pervasive economic inequalities, King observes that "the bourgeoise-white, black or brown-behaves about the same the world over," and he calls upon the West to aid India's development "in a spirit of international brotherhood, not national selfishness."

For a long time I had wanted to take a trip to India. Even as a child the entire Orient held a strange fascination for me-the elephants, the tigers, the temples, the snake charmers and all the other storybook characters.

While the Montgomery boycott was going on, India's Gandhi was the guiding light of our technique of non-violent social change. We spoke of him often. So as soon as our victory over bus segregation was won, some of my friends said: "Why don't you go to India and see for yourself what the Mahatma, whom you so admire, has wrought."

In 1956 when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's Prime Minister, made a short visit to the United States, he was gracious enough to say that he wished that he and I had met and had his diplomatic representatives make inquiries as to the possibility of my visiting his country some time soon. Our former American ambassador to India, Chester Bowles, wrote me along the same lines.

After I recovered from this near-fatal encounter and was finally released by my doctors, it occurred to me that it might be better to get in the trip to India before plunging too deeply once again into the sea of the Southern segregation struggle.

I preferred not to take this long trip alone and asked my wife and my friend, Lawrence Reddick, to accompany me. Coretta was particularly interested in the women of India and Dr. Reddick in the history and government of that great country. He had written my biography, Crusader Without Violence, and said that my true test would come when the people who knew Gandhi looked me over and passed judgment upon me and the Montgomery movement. The three of us made up a sort of 3-headed team with six eyes and six ears for looking and listening.

The Christopher Reynolds Foundation made a grant through the American Friends Service Committee to cover most of the expenses of the trip and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Montgomery Improvement Association added their support. The Gandhi Memorial Trust of India extended an official invitation, through diplomatic channels, for our visit.

And so on February 3, 1959, just before midnight, we left New York by plane. En route we stopped in Paris with Richard Wright, an old friend of Reddick's, who brought us up to date on European attitudes on the Negro question and gave us a taste of the best French cooking.

We missed our plane connection in Switzerland because of fog, arriving in India after a roundabout route, two days late. But from the time we came down out of the clouds at Bombay on February 10, until March 10, when we waved goodbye at the New Delhi airport, we had one of the most concentrated and eye-opening experiences of our lives. There is so much to tell that I can only touch upon a few of the high points.

At the outset, let me say that we had a grand reception in India. The people showered upon us the most generous hospitality imaginable. We were graciously received by the Prime Minister, the President and the Vice-President of the nation; members of Parliament, Governors and Chief Ministers of various Indian states; writers, professors, social reformers and at least one saint. Since our pictures were in the newspapers very often it was not unusual for us to be recognized by crowds in public places and on public conveyances. Occasionally I would take a morning walk in the large cities, and out of the most unexpected places someone would emerge and ask: "Are you Martin Luther King?"

Virtually every door was open to us. We had hundreds of invitations that the limited time did not allow us to accept. We were looked upon as brothers with the color of our skins as something of an asset. But the strongest bond of fraternity was the common cause of minority and colonial peoples in America, Africa and Asia struggling to throw off racialism and imperialism.

We had the opportunity to share our views with thousands of Indian people through endless conversations and numerous discussion sessions. I spoke before university groups and public meetings all over India. Because of the keen interest that the Indian people have in the race problem these meetings were usually packed. Occasionally interpreters were used, but on the whole I spoke to audiences that understood English.

The Indian people love to listen to the Negro spirituals. Therefore, Coretta ended up singing as much as I lectured. We discovered that autograph seekers are not confined to America. After appearances in public meetings and while visiting villages we were often besieged for autographs. Even while riding planes, more than once pilots came into the cabin from the cockpit requesting our signatures.

We got a good press throughout our stay. Thanks to the Indian papers, the Montgomery bus boycott was already well known in that country. Indian publications perhaps gave a better continuity of our 381-day bus strike than did most of our papers in the United States. Occasionally I meet some American fellow citizen who even now asks me how the bus boycott is going, apparently never having read that our great day of bus integration, December 21, 1956, closed that chapter of our history.

We held press conferences in all of the larger cities-Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay-and talked with newspaper men almost everywhere we went. They asked sharp questions and at times appeared to be hostile but that was just their way of bringing out the story that they were after. As reporters, they were scrupulously fair with us and in their editorials showed an amazing grasp of what was going on in America and other parts of the world.

The trip had a great impact upon me personally. It was wonderful to be in Gandhi's land, to talk with his son, his grandsons, his cousin and other relatives; to share the reminiscences of his close comrades; to visit his ashrama, to see the countless memorials for him and finally to lay a wreath on his entombed ashes at Rajghat. I left India more convinced than ever before that non-violent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom. It was a marvelous thing to see the amazing results of a non-violent campaign. The aftermath of hatred and bitterness that usually follows a violent campaign was found nowhere in India. Today a mutual friendship based on complete equality exists between the Indian and British people within the commonwealth. The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But, the way of non-violence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community.

The spirit of Gandhi is very much alive in India today. Some of his disciples have misgivings about this when they remember the drama of the fight for national independence and when they look around and find nobody today who comes near the stature of the Mahatma. But any objective observer must report that Gandhi is not only the greatest figure in India's history but that his influence is felt in almost every aspect of life and public policy today.

India can never forget Gandhi. For example, the Gandhi Memorial Trust (also known as the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi) collected some $130 million soon after the death of "the father of the nation." This was perhaps the largest, spontaneous, mass monetary contribution to the memory of a single individual in the history of the world. This fund, along with support from the Government and other institutions, is resulting in the spread and development of Gandhian philosophy, the implementing of his constructive program, the erection of libraries and the publication of works by and about the life and times of Gandhi. Posterity could not escape him even if it tried. By all standards of measurement, he is one of the half dozen greatest men in world history.

I was delighted that the Gandhians accepted us with open arms. They praised our experiment with the non-violent resistance technique at Montgomery. They seem to look upon it as an outstanding example of the possibilities of its use in western civilization. To them as to me it also suggests that non-violent resistance when planned and positive in action can work effectively even under totalitarian regimes.

We argued this point at some length with the groups of African students who are today studying in India. They felt that non-violent resistance could only work in a situation where the resisters had a potential ally in the conscience of the opponent. We soon discovered that they, like many others, tended to confuse passive resistance with non-resistance. This is completely wrong. True non-violent resistance is not unrealistic submission to evil power. It is rather a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love, in the faith that it is better to be the recipient of violence than the inflictor of it, since the latter only multiplies the existence of violence and bitterness in the universe, while the former may develop a sense of shame in the opponent, and thereby bring about a transformation and change of heart.

Non-violent resistance does call for love, but it is not a sentimental love. It is a very stern love that would organize itself into collective action to right a wrong by taking on itself suffering. While I understand the reasons why oppressed people often turn to violence in their struggle for freedom, it is my firm belief that the crusade for independence and human dignity that is now reaching a climax in Africa will have a more positive effect on the world, if it is waged along the lines that were first demonstrated in that continent by Gandhi himself.

India is a vast country with vast problems. We flew over the long stretches, from North to South, East to West; took trains for shorter jumps and used automobiles and jeeps to get us into the less accessible places.

India is about a third the size of the United States but has almost three times as many people. Everywhere we went we saw crowded humanity-on the roads, in the city streets and squares, even in the villages.

Most of the people are poor and poorly dressed. The average income per person is less than $70 per year. Nevertheless, their turbans for their heads, loose flowing, wrap-around dhotis that they wear instead of trousers and the flowing saries that the women wear instead of dresses are colorful and picturesque. Many Indians wear part native and part western dress.

We think that we in the United States have a big housing problem but in the city of Bombay, for example, over a half million people sleep out of doors every night. These are mostly unattached, unemployed or partially employed males. They carry their bedding with them like foot soldiers and unroll it each night in any unoccupied space they can find-on the sidewalk, in a railroad station or at the entrance of a shop that is closed for the evening.

The food shortage is so widespread that it is estimated that less than 30% of the people get what we would call three square meals a day. During our great depression of the 1930's, we spoke of "a third of a nation" being "ill-housed, ill clad and ill fed." For India today, simply change one third to two thirds in that statement and that would make it about right.

As great as is unemployment, under-employment is even greater. Seventy per cent of the Indian people are classified as agricultural workers and most of these do less than 200 days of farm labor per year because of the seasonal fluctuations and other uncertainties of mother nature. Jobless men roam the city streets.

Great ills flow from the poverty of India but strangely there is relatively little crime. Here is another concrete manifestation of the wonderful spiritual quality of the Indian people. They are poor, jammed together and half starved but they do not take it out on each other. They are a kindly people. They do not abuse each other-verbally or physically-as readily as we do. We saw but one fist fight in India during our stay.

In contrast to the poverty-stricken, there are Indians who are rich, have luxurious homes, landed estates, fine clothes and show evidence of over-eating. The bourgeoise-white, black or brown-behaves about the same the world over.

And then there is, even here, the problem of segregation. We call it race in America; they call it caste in India. In both places it means that some are considered inferior, treated as though they deserve less.

We were surprised and delighted to see that India has made greater progress in the fight against caste "untouchability" than we have made here in our own country against race segregation. Both nations have federal laws against discrimination (acknowledging, of course, that the decision of our Supreme Court is the law of our land). But after this has been said, we must recognize that there are great differences between what India has done and what we have done on a problem that is very similar. The leaders of India have placed their moral power behind their law. From the Prime Minister down to the village councilmen, everybody declares publicly that untouchability is wrong. But in the United States some of our highest officials decline to render a moral judgment on segregation and some from the South publicly boast of their determination to maintain segregation. This would be unthinkable in India.

Moreover, Gandhi not only spoke against the caste system but he acted against it. He took "untouchables" by the hand and led them into the temples from which they had been excluded. To equal that, President Eisenhower would take a Negro child by the hand and lead her into Central High School in Little Rock.

Gandhi also renamed the untouchables, calling them "Harijans" which means "children of God."

The government has thrown its full weight behind the program of giving the Harijans an equal chance in society-especially when it comes to job opportunities, education and housing.

India's leaders, in and out of government, are conscious of their country's other great problems and are heroically grappling with them. The country seems to be divided. Some say that India should become westernized and modernized as quickly as possible so that she might raise her standards of living. Foreign capital and foreign industry should be invited in, for in this lies the salvation of the almost desperate situation.

On the other hand, there are others-perhaps the majority-who say that westernization will bring with it the evils of materialism, cut throat competition and rugged individualism; that India will lose her soul if she takes to chasing Yankee dollars; and that the big machine will only raise the living standards of the comparative few workers who get jobs but that the greater number of people will be displaced and will thus be worse off than they are now.

Prime Minister Nehru, who is at once an intellectual and a man charged with the practical responsibility of heading the government, seems to steer a middle course between these extreme attitudes. In our talk with him he indicated that he felt that some industrialization was absolutely necessary; that there were some things that only big or heavy industry could do for the country but that if the state keeps a watchful eye on the developments, most of the pitfalls may be avoided.

At the same time, Mr. Nehru gives support to the movement that would encourage and expand the handicraft arts such as spinning and weaving in home and village and thus leaving as much economic self help and autonomy as possible to the local community.

There is a great movement in India that is almost unknown in America. At its center is the campaign for land reform known as Bhoodan. It would solve India's great economic and social change by consent, not by force. The Bhoodanists are led by the sainted Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan, a highly sensitive intellectual, who was trained in American colleges. Their ideal is the self-sufficient village. Their program envisions

1. Persuading large land owners to give up some of their holding to landless peasants;

2. Persuading small land owners to give up their individual ownership for common cooperative ownership by the villages;

3. Encouraging farmers and villagers to spin and weave the cloth for their own clothes during their spare time from their agricultural pursuits.

Since these measures would answer the questions of employment, food and clothing, the village could then, through cooperative action, make just about everything that it would need or get it through barter or exchange from other villages. Accordingly, each village would be virtually self sufficient and would thus free itself from the domination of the urban centers that are today like evil loadstones drawing the people away from the rural areas, concentrating them in city slums and debauching them with urban vices. At least this is the argument of the Bhoodanists and other Gandhians.

Such ideas sound strange and archaic to Western ears. However, the Indians have already achieved greater results than we Americans would ever expect. For example, millions of acres of land have been given up by rich landlords and additional millions of acres have been given up to cooperative management by small farmers. On the other hand, the Bhoodanists shrink from giving their movement the organization and drive that we in America would venture to guess that it must have in order to keep pace with the magnitude of the problems that everybody is trying to solve.

Even the government's five-year plans fall short in that they do not appear to be of sufficient scope to embrace their objectives. Thus, the three five-year plans were designed to provide 25,000,000 new jobs over a 15 year period but the birth rate of India is 6,000,000 per year. This means that in 15 years there will be 9,000,000 more people (less those who have died or retired) looking for the 15 million new jobs. In other words, if the planning were 100 per cent successful, it could not keep pace with the growth of problems it is trying to solve.

As for what should be done, we surely do not have the answer. But we do feel certain that India needs help. She must have outside capital and technical know-how. It is in the interest of the United States and the West to help supply these needs and not attach strings to the gifts.

Whatever we do should be done in a spirit of international brotherhood, not national selfishness. It should be done not merely because it is diplomatically expedient, but because it is morally compelling. At the same time, it will rebound to the credit of the West if India is able to maintain her democracy while solving her problems.

It would be a boon to democracy if one of the great nations of the world, with almost 400,000,000 people, proves that it is possible to provide a good living for everyone without surrendering to a dictatorship of either the "right" or "left." Today India is a tremendous force for peace and non-violence, at home and abroad. It is a land where the idealist and the intellectual are yet respected. We should want to help India preserve her soul and thus help to save our own.

Four weeks after returning from India, King prepared a draft of this article (Draft, "My trip to India," April 1959; see also Maude L. Ballou to Lerone Bennett, 17 April 1959). Nine photographs accompanied it, including pictures of King meeting Prime Minister Nehru and the Kings and traveling companion Lawrence Reddick placing a wreath at the site of Gandhi's cremation.

Wright, an African American novelist, had lived in Paris since 1947. In a draft of this article, King had crossed out the reference to Wright. For more on King's visit with Wright, see Introduction, p. 4 in this volume.

Among those King met were Nehru, President Rajendra Prasad, Vice President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and member of Parliament Sucheta Kripalani. King also refers to Gandhi's disciple Vinoba Bhave.

King's draft phrased this differently: "Our pictures were in the newspapers very often and we were recognized by crowds at the circus and by pilots on the planes." The draft did not include the subsequent sentence or the following two paragraphs.

See King to Ramdas M. Gandhi, 8 August 1959, pp. 255-256 in this volume.

This sentence and the remainder of the paragraph were not included in King's draft.

King's draft added the following sentence: "They, like many others, seem to feel that nonviolent resistance means non-resistance, do nothing." The remainder of the paragraph and the following paragraph were not included in the draft.

King's draft included the following paragraph: "We also learned a lot from the India journalists. Our practice was to divide the time of our press conferences between questions they asked us and questions we asked them."

King's draft added the following: "The people have a way of squatting, resting comfortably (it seemed) on their haunches. Many of the homes do not have chairs and most of the cities have very few park or street benches."

In King's draft, he had stricken the following two paragraphs: "There is great consideration for human life but little regard for labor and time. We saw men mending shoes almost without tools. Five persons may be sent to bring down a package that one could carry. Human muscles there do many jobs that our machines do here. Moreover, nobody seems to be in a hurry and it is surprising when arrangements and appointments come off according to schedule.

Young boys accost you everywhere, persistently offering to supply you with just about anything your heart could desire and your pocket book can pay for. Begging is widespread though the government has done much to discourage it. But what can you do when an old haggard woman or a little crippled urchin comes up and motions to you that she is hungry?"

King's draft indicated that ninety million more people would be looking for work.

In his draft, King marked the following sentence for deletion: "Her people are remarkably patient but many of them are looking toward their neighbor to the North and noting that China under the discipline of communism seems to be moving ahead more rapidly than India."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In his account of his India tour published in Ebony magazine, King notes that Gandhi's spirit is still alive, though "some of his disciples have misgivings about this when . . . they look around and find nobody today who comes near the stature of the Mahatma."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Short film for use in a social studies classroom, including original footage of Martin Luther King describing the influence that Gandhi had on his philosophy of non-violence and its application within the Civil Rights Movement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Comparison of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.