Black History Icons: Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born on February 4, 1913, and passed on October 24, 2005.
Here are five facts about the “mother of the modern day civil rights movement.” 1.
She was a civil rights activist as a member of the NAACP before her famous bus arrest.
2.
Parks revealed she didn’t refuse to leave her seat because she was tired, but because she “was tired of giving in.” 3.
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 1996.
4.
Historians consider her arrest and the Montgomery bus boycott to be what sparked the Civil Rights Movement.
5.
She was the first woman to lie in honor at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol after she passed.
Happy Birthday, Rosa Parks!