Rosa Parks

On December 1, 1955, 42-year-old Rosa Parks became the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement" in America by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. On that day, Rosa, of mixed African-American, Muscogee Indian, and Scots-Irish ancestry, helped launch one of the most important movements of the 20th century. Born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1913, Rosa attended the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls at the age of 11. Thanks in part to the education she received there, Rosa went from small-town seamstress to the driving force behind the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. A true biracial achiever, Rosa was honored with both a Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal prior to her death in 2005. Her story of trials, tribulations, and success inspires all readers with her strength and courage.