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Rosa Parks was an activist in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, who became famous when on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, she refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled.

See the fact file below for more facts and information on Rosa Parks or download the double-bundle worksheet collection which includes over 30 worksheets to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Quick Facts:

Name
Rosa Louise McCauley

Date of Birth
February 4, 1913

Date of Death
October 24, 2005

Place of Birth
Tuskegee, Alabama

Birth Family
James McCauley and Leona Edwards

Marriage/Spouse
Raymond Parks

Children
no children

Education
Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, al-African American Booker T. Washington High School and attended Alabama State College for a short time

Career
Seamstress, Civil Rights Activist, Writer

Reason for Fame
Most historians date the beginning of the civil rights movement in the United States to December 1, 1955. On that day, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. She was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance, but her act of defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in America and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere. Rosa Parks is called the Mother of the modern-day Civil Rights Movement

Additional Information
Rosa Parks received many awards and honors which included the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal. She was awarded two dozen honorary doctorates from universities worldwide.

Further Facts:

  • Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (1903-2005) was an African American civil rights activist and seamstress whom the U.S. Congress dubbed as the “Mother of the Modern-day Civil Rights Movement.”
  • She was born on February 4, 1913, and grew up in the southern United States in Alabama. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a carpenter. She had a younger brother named Sylvester.
  • After finishing her elementary school at Pine Level, she attended the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls. She then attended the Alabama State Teacher’s College to try and get her high school diploma. But her education was cut short because she had to take care of her sick mother.
  • Few years later, she met Raymond Parks and married in the year 1932. She then worked part-time jobs and went back to school, finally earning her high school diploma.
  • Growing up witnessing the racism in the south, Rosa and her husband Raymond wanted to do something about it. So they joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
  • Rosa saw the opportunity to make a difference when the Freedom bus arrived in Montgomery. The train, according to the Supreme Court, was supposed to be unsegregated, so she led a group of African-American students to ride the train. Their group lined up in the same line as the white students. Some people in Montgomery didn’t approve of this. Rosa wanted to show that all people should be given the same equal treatment.
  • On December 1, 1955, after a hard day’s work, Rosa settled on her seat on the bus. All seats on the bus had filled up when a white man boarded. The bus driver asked Rosa and some other African-Americans to give up their seats but Rosa refused, and for that, she was arrested.
  • Rosa was charged with breaking a segregation law and was told to pay a fine of $10. Refusing to pay, saying she was not guilty and that the law was illegal, Rosa took her case to the high court.
  • That night, a number of African-American leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. decided to boycott the city buses and continued on for 381 days. Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation laws in Alabama were unconstitutional.
  • Rosa received many threats and feared for her life. Many civil rights leaders’ houses were bombed, including MLK Jr.’s, so in 1957, Raymond and Rosa moved to Detroit, Michigan.
  • There, she continued to attend civil rights meetings and became a symbol to many African-Americans of the fight for equal rights. On October 24, 2005, at the age of 92, she quietly died in her apartment in Detroit.
  • Today, she remains a symbol of freedom and equality to many.

Rosa Parks Worksheets

This is a double bundle addition which includes over 30 ready-to-use Rosa Parks worksheets which are perfect for students to learn about Rosa Parks who was an activist in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Worksheet Collection 1:

  • Rosa Parks Facts
  • Rosa Parks Timeline
  • News Report
  • The Bus Effect
  • What If?
  • The Legacy
  • Rosa Parks Song I
  • Rosa Parks Song II
  • Googling Rosa Parks
  • The Inspiring Rosa Parks
  • Past and Present

Worksheet Collection 2:

  • Rosa Parks Facts
  • Rosa Parks Word Search
  • Rosa Parks Fact File
  • Passenger in the Bus
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott
  • Courageous Rosa
  • King and Parks
  • Dear Rosa…
  • Past and Present
  • What If?
  • Just Like Rosa…

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Rosa Park famous for?

When Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, she was arrested and sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott by 17,000 black citizens.

What changes did Rosa Parks make?

In Montgomery, 1955, Mrs. Parks refused to follow a bus driver’s demands that she give up her seat in the “colored” section to a white person once the white section had filled up. Consequently, this sparked a successful boycott of buses directed at integration shortly thereafter.

Did Rosa Parks change the law?

The US Supreme Court’s decision that Montgomery’s segregation laws were unconstitutional allowed black people to sit in any bus seat, inspiring other equality movements throughout the United States. Parks became a hero to those striving for African American equality.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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