On December 1, 1955, a 42-year-old seamstress was making her way home from work. She was tired, her feet hurt, and although I don’t know this for a fact, I’m guessing she was feeling at odds with the world. She had two things that made her different, or more to the point, made her completely invisible. She was a black woman in segregated Alabama, and she was childless.

 

But when she refused to give up her seat to a white man, Rosa Parks made history. Her arrest sparked the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. and Rosa Parks’ name became synonymous with equality and the fight for civil rights.

 

What I love about Rosa Parks is that she never set out to change the world; she just quietly, peacefully demanded her rights. Her actions have changed millions of lives.

 

Rosa was married to Raymond Parks for 45 years. After his death, she founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, to promote educational and historical programs for young people. In 1996, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 1999, she received a Congressional Gold Medal.

 

Rosa Parks is considered the Mother of the Modern Civil Rights Movement. She never had children of her own.