American Legends: The Life of Rosa Parks

*Includes pictures of Rosa and important people, places, and events in her life.
*Includes some of her most inspirational quotes. 
*Discusses Rosa's participation in some of the Civil Rights Movement's most famous events. 

“People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” – Rosa Parks

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. 

Rosa Parks is one of the most famous women in American history, and an instantly recognizable name among Americans of all age, thanks to the events of December 1, 1955. That afternoon, on her way home from work, Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white person in defiance of Montgomery’s segregated bus policies. Within days of her arrest, Montgomery’s civil rights activists had organized a wide-scale boycott of Montgomery’s buses by blacks. To lead the boycott, organizers formed the Montgomery Improvement Association, electing a young, 26 year old pastor president of the new group. His name was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

In many histories, the narrative of Rosa Parks’ life ends there. While she was celebrated and hailed as a civil rights activist for the next 50 years until her death in 2005, few details of her life aside from her determined act and arrest are remembered. The context of the time and place are also largely overlooked, most notably the fact that she was not the first black woman who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in 1955. All of that is largely unfair, considering the fact that Rosa Parks suffered further abuse and stigma living in the South during the Civil Rights Movement. And instead of cashing in on her fame, she gave much of the money she made to civil rights groups and organizations. 

American Legends: The Life of Rosa Parks profiles the life and legacy of one of America’s most famous women and one of its greatest Civil Rights icons. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Rosa Parks and her story like never before.