Rosa
Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, grew up in an era of overt racial discrimination and segregation. Throughout her life, she was acutely aware of the injustices faced by African Americans, an awareness that would culminate in a pivotal act of defiance. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks, a seamstress and a secretary for the NAACP, refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, challenging the deeply entrenched racial laws of the time.

This simple yet profound act of resistance led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 381-day protest against the city's segregated bus system, propelling a young Martin Luther King Jr. into the national spotlight. More than just a singular event, Parks' decision became a catalyst for the larger civil rights movement in the United States. Her life, marked by determination and activism, continued to be dedicated to the cause of racial equality until her passing on October 24, 2005. Rosa Parks remains an enduring symbol of the power of individual actions to inspire collective change.