In 1943, James Blake had thrown Parks off the bus for not entering through the back entrance. Back then, Blacks were expected to enter the bus in the front and

pay the fare then exit and re-enter via the back entrance. Parks refused to exit after paying. In her autobiography Parks writes “After that, I made a point of looking at

who was driving the bus before I got on. I didn’t want any more run-ins with that mean one.”  In 1956, when the Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation, Parks is

photographed boarding a bus driven by James Blake...through the front entrance. #HeadHeldHigh

Reportedly, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was the first Montgomery bus passenger to be arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. This happened about 9 months before

Rosa Parks. According to NPR, Colvin said when she refused and the police were called, "All I remember is that I was not going to walk off the bus

voluntarily." And, unfortunately, she did not. She was brutally forced off by police.

Rosa Parks had been a long time civil rights activist way before her arrest in 1955. She had a crystal clear vision of how Black people were supposed to be

treated and knew this wasn't it. She was a member of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She also served as the

secretary for her local chapter. #SheWasBoutThatLife

The myth that Parks refused to get up because her feet were tired was put to bed in her autobiography. Parks wrote  “I was not tired physically or no more tired

than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two.

No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” This makes us respect her even more!! #FistPump

Just weeks after her first arrest, Rosa Parks was taken to jail again, this time for her participation in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Parks and 114 others were jailed for violating

a state law against organized boycotting. #DidntStopThemThough

Archives of Parks’ papers have only recently been made available to researchers. According to historian Jeanne Theoharis, Parks was fueled by the way the justice system would set free the

men who killed Emmett Till. #SheCouldNoLongerBeSilent

Rosa Parks was in her prime when she sat down to take this monumental stand. In fact, she was 42. Uncovered essays, writings, and speeches written by Rosa Parks tell

the story of a no nonsense Black woman who didn't hold her tongue. Rosa told her grandmother: “I would rather be lynched than live to be mistreated and not be allowed

to say ‘I don’t like it." #Preach

Parks was committed to women’s rights throughout her life and sought justice for Black women like Gertrude Perkins and Recy Taylor who had been raped by klansmen. In one of her

writings, Parks describes a near rape encounter noted in the Washington Post, “I was ready and willing to die, but give any consent, never, never, never” she wrote. #RealStrength

In the 1980's and 90's, Parks worked in the office of Rep. John Conyers.  At that time, she expressed her disagreement with the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. She

issued a statement in September 1991 according to the Baltimore Sun, saying Thomas’ poor record on civil and voting rights “would not represent a step forward in the road to

racial progress but a U-turn on that road.”

Contrary to popular belief, Parks sat in the section marked 'coloreds.' Although many believed she was visibly fair enough to "pass," Parks was proud of her black heritage. She sat

in the "coloreds" section, and it was there on the day refused to give in any longer, that when the bus became full, the revolution began. The bus driver demanded

Parks to give up her seat to an oncoming white man. #TheRestIsHistory