Description
Research paper on the arrest of Rosa Parks. About 6-7 Peer reviewed sources. About 7-8 pages long. Talk about her background information and historical context. Talk about what happened when she was arrested and why? Talk about the civil rights movement and segregation and racism. Have a work cited list
Explanation & Answer
hello, am sending it 30 mins time please
Attached.
Running head: THE ARREST OF ROSA PARKS
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The Arrest of Rosa Parks
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Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
The Arrest of Rosa Parks
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The Arrest of Rosa Parks
Introduction
This paper aims to explore Rosa Parks' life as a significant pillar in civil rights
movements’ history through her arrest. Rosa Parks was a black American woman who showed
the courage to fight against discrimination. She valued human dignity and justice for all. Rosa
ignited the spirit of togetherness and solidarity in fighting for people’s rights by refusing to give
up her seat in a bus to a white person when it was demanded, contrary to her principles.
Although it was dangerous for her life since it contravened chapter six, section 11of the
Montgomery city code, she was not shaken. This was an act of courage and passion. Her arrest
and subsequent charges made her a hero due to her unchallenged and robust character that
inspired the black community to boycott bus rides for over a year. Although she was not the first
to be charged with the offense, her act was inspiring not only to people of color that faced
segregation and discrimination but also to lawmakers, human right activists, and movement
leaders.
Background and historical context
Rosa Parks was born and named Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913 in
Alabama, US. Rosa started experiencing racial segregation and discrimination at a very tender
age because she was a black American (Bush, 2005). Her life was complicated by the separation
of her parents when she was only two. Her mother moved back to her parents at Pine Level,
Alabama. Rosa spent much of her youth life grandparents who were passionate advocates of
social justice and equality but were former slaves of Ku Klux Klan. Brittain (2014) observed that
her early life experiences must have influenced her adult life to speak against discrimination as
The Arrest of Rosa Parks
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her grandparents did. It is not doubted Rosa was courageous. She also attended a segregated
school that was one room with no adequate equipment located in Pine, Alabama angering her
more. She was taught by her mother to read when still young. Rosa had not completed her high
school education when she got married.
She later married Raymond Parks in 1932 and adopted her husband’s last name. Her
husband convinced her to go back to school, and she earned a high school diploma while she was
still married. Rosa’s determination to achieve in life was manifested by her decision to go back
to school at her age. She indeed acquired the diploma. Rosa was a hardworking seamstress who
had a sense of fashion (Donovan, 2004).
At 30, she became a member of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Montgomery chapter. Her
leadership was cultivated when she served as the movement’s secretary until 1956. She was a
strong leader who voiced the concerns of the black people during an era of racial discrimination
and segregation. She had significant influence among her people who she served although she
was not that vocal.
Her early life was complicated by the family breakup, racial and social segregation, and
inadequate resources. These factors coupled with her opportunity to lead (NAACP), according to
Clarke (2000), shaped her activism skills since was trained on civil activism for the period she
was a leader in the movement. These sentiments are affirmed by Dreier (2006), who described as
tired. Before she was arrested in 1955, it is clear she was fed up by the life of discrimination and
segregation hardening her more. Her courage and character were on a different level, given the
time and place she chose to refuse to give her bus seat to a white man.
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Arrest and reasons
Rosa Parks was traveling in a public bus in the evening of December 1, 1965, in
Montgomery, Alabama when she was ordered to leave her seat in the bus because a white man
wanted to seat. At the time, black people would not seat with the white because of discrimination
against people of color. Rosa was ordered to go and sit at the back, a place where black people
seats were reserved. Rosa, who was coming from her work where she worked as seamstress
refused to give up the seat. This was against the discriminatory laws that required segregation
based on race in all public facilities such as schools and public buses.
According to Montgomery, Alabama bus policy, the first ten seats were strictly for the
white passengers only. However, when Parks was arrested, she was seated in the first row that
was behind those seats meant for whites only. This means that although she was in the middle
seats, the bus operators would still force her to sit at the back of the bus to give the white seats
that were boarded an already crowded bus. Mrs. Parks did not obey this order, and she remained
seated while explaining she had not violated any law since she was not sitting on the seats
permanently reserved for the white (Dunlap, 2013). The bus driver, James Blake, argued that he
had the discretion to separate black Americans from the white as he wanted. This argument
caused confrontation and commotion that led to Rosa’s arrest.
The bus driver reported that a woman of color sitting in the white section of the bus had
refused to move back. The case was reported at the police department city of Montgomery on
December 1, 1955, at 6.06 pm. Rosa Parks was quickly fingerprinted and put to detention. She
would later be charged for contravening chapter six, section 11of the Montgomery city code.
She was found guilty of disorderly conduct and local ordinance violation. In a trial that lasted
less than an hour, Parks was fined $ 10 for the offense and a further $4 for court costs.
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Many scholars have described her as ‘rebellious.’ Dunlap (2013) attributes her rebellious
life to self-consciousness and demand for respect. She did not want to give in quickly, without
reason. She insists that she was neither too old nor too tired to walk (Dreier, 2006). Rosa did not
intend to cause commotion, but she was angry by the discrimination against her and other black
people. Her decision to appeal the judgment was not driven by the lack of money to pay the fine
but the anger to protest unequal treatment by law.
Civil right movement, segregation, and racism
Segregation and discrimination were part of life in the US. Although the black
community would complain of the situation, they had not held mass protests against it. In early
1900, the city of Montgomery had passed the law that segregated people based on race. After the
arrest and subsequent charging of Rosa Parks, the black community was angered by the
mistreatment of Rosa. It prompted the organization of people to fight for their rights by
boycotting public busses among other measures.
Montgomery bust protest plans began
immediately, and Charron (2014) notes that the announcements were made in black churches on
December 4, 1955, three days after the dramatic arrest of Rosa Parks in the bus. A newspaper
that was widely circulating Montgomery Advertiser played a critical role in informing people
about the planned boycott. The unanimous agreement that black people would only use the
public buses if they were treated with dignity and courtesy and until black drivers were allowed
to work complicated the issue further for the authorities. What started as a simple protest sparked
more grievances among the black community.
The following Monday, when the protests started was a rainy day that saw many walk in
such a weather condition. This act of defiance strengthened them even more, as noted by Mcghee
(2015). Those who took cabs were charged the same fare as the busses were charging. Over
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forty thousand people walked for long distances reaching even 30 km. The invitation of parks to
the meeting in the evening when strategies of the boycott were being discussed after the success
of the first-day boycott presented her as a hero to people who gave her a standing ovation. She,
however, did not speak. Montgomery improvement association (MIA) was formed as a result of
protests to bring people together to fight against discrimination and segregation (Bush, 2005).
Martin Luther King, Jr. was elected as the president of this movement. Although he was
relatively new in Montgomery and young, people saw a leader in him through his Dexter Avenue
Baptist Church leadership.
Rosa parks appealed the decision of the court. She explained that she did it to challenge
the racial segregation legality. The appeals and lawsuits moved from one to another. Incidentally,
the boycott was becoming more severe and caused violence in Montgomery. The trial ended in
the US Supreme Court. At this time, the civil movements that were against discrimination led by
Nixon and Dr. King were becoming stronger. , and their homes were bombed. The Supreme
Court ruled in 1956 that the segregation rule that Parks was challenging was unconstitutional.
Parks had already lost her job and received several forms of harassments but was still a strong
supporter of activism and the MIA movement. Her win in the case saw her become the face of
civil rights movements and was branded the ‘ mother of civil rights movements’. Mcghee (2015)
termed this ruling as ‘landmark.’
Rosa Parks was a very instrumental person in today’s democracy (Donov...