Rosa Parks holds a name in the history of Black Heritage as a woman who took a stand for her civil rights and did not budge. On December 1, 1955, she refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

She was arrested for her non-compliance with the Jim Crow laws of the time which legalized segregation on city buses.

It is interesting to note though, that this was not the first time this had happened. In March of 1955, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl also refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus to a white man. Her case was reviewed by a committee. Martin Luther King was one of the committee members. It was determined though that this case should not be pursued since this school girl was pregnant and unmarried at the time.

So when the unfortunate occurrence with Parks happened, King and his followers were ready for peaceful action. Parks’ arrest gave birth to the Montgomery Bus Boycott which was led by King. This boycott changed the history of racial segregation in the United States.

In this boycott all African Americans in Montgomery were urged to not use the city buses in protest of the unfair laws which supported segregation. The boycott lasted for 385 days and caused much tension. In fact, Martin Luther King’s own home was bombed.

During the boycott King was arrested, but all these grievances did lead to change. In the end, the District Courts ruled that segregation on all Montgomery City Buses was no longer legal. King and all those who supported him were able to bring about change through peaceful means. This kind of action set a new civil rights law that influenced others around the country.