Imagine this: You are tired after a very long day. You get on a bus and make your way to a seat near the back. Then a white man comes on the bus. The bus driver tells you to give up your seat for the man. If you don't, he'll call the police and have you arrested (逮捕). That's what Rosa Parks suffered in 1955.
Back then, that's how life was for many African Americans in parts of the United States. Rosa Parks helped change that. Parks died in 2005. But the influence of her brave actions can still be seen today.
Taking a Stand
When Parks was a young woman, many states in the South had segregation laws. These laws separated white people and black people. Black people had to go to separate restaurants, schools, and theaters. They had to sit in the back of public buses. They also had to give up their seats to the; white. Living in one of these cities, Montgomery, Rosa Parks thought these laws were unfair so she decided to do something about it. On December 1, 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. The police arrested her.
Leading the Way
Because of the terrible things Parks experienced, black people started to give up city buses in Montgomery. Thousands of black people refused to take the bus. Instead, they walked, carpooled, or took cabs to work for more than a year.
This made the rest of the nation pay attention to the unfair laws. On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court, the nation's highest court, banned (禁止) segregation on buses.
Parks encouraged others to stand up for their rights too. "I just wanted to be free like everybody else", Parks once said.
