Rosa Parks

Born in February 1913, Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist whose courageous refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her act of defiance became a catalyst for nationwide efforts to end racial segregation in public transportation and beyond.

Parks received numerous honors for her contributions to civil rights, including the NAACP’s Martin Luther King Jr. Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal. Often referred to as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” she passed away in October 2005 at the age of 92.