Rosa parks biography summary pages

1913-2005

Who Was Rosa Parks?

Born in February 1913, Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist whose refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in 1955 led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Her bravery led to nationwide efforts to end racial segregation on public transportation and elsewhere. Parks was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Award by the NAACP, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal.

Rosa parks story

She has been described as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” She died in October 2005 at age 92.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
BORN: February 4, 1913
DIED: October 24, 2005
BIRTHPLACE: Tuskegee, Alabama
SPOUSE: Raymond Parks (1932-1977)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius

Childhood, Family, and Education

Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Her parents, James and Leona McCauley, separated when Parks was 2. Parks’ mother moved the family to Pine Level, Ala