Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an American activist and a key player in the American civil rights movement. She is best known for her role in the Montgomery bus boycott, and the United States Congress has called her “The first lady of civil rights”, and “The mother of the freedom movement.”
Rosa Parks was born on 4th February, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She grew up under the white-established Jim Crow segregation laws and she would remember “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.
As she grew she became more involved in activism until on Thursday, 1st December after working all day, she took the bus home at around 6pm. Parks paid her fare and sat in an empty seat in the first tow of black seats reserved in the ‘colored’ section. As the white empty seats filled, the driver moved the ‘colored’ section further back, requiring Parks to move but she refused to do so.
If you’d like to know more about Rosa Parks, we’re recommending books today, some for children, others for adults, so everyone can learn about this remarkable woman.
Rosa Parks: My Story – Rosa Parks, Jim Haskins
It seems only right we start our recommendations with the words of Rosa Parks, spoken with candour in this compelling autobiography.
Reflections by Rosa Parks – Rosa Parks, Gregory J. Reed
Decades after her autobiography, and after her quiet defiance, Parks revisits her life in this complete reflection of a full life lived, from the Montgomery bus, to the morals that saw her through into old age.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks – Jeanne Theoharis
This award winning book is considered to be the definitive political biography of Rosa Parks examines her six decades of activism, challenging perceptions of her as an accidental actor in the civil rights movement.
I Am Rosa Parks – Jim Haskins
Jim Haskins worked with Parks on her original autobiography, rewritten here in simple text for younger readers.
I Am Rosa Parks – Brad Meltzer
And for even younger readers is this picture book, part of a series of books featuring ordinary people who changed the world.
We hope you find some good suggestions there and we’ll be back with more recommendations lists soon. If you want to ensure you never miss any of these, subscribe now.
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