Women of Other Faiths
Using common values contained in their respective teachings, women of all religious traditions can work together and collaborate in many areas especially peace building and women’s empowerment. Collectively women of all faiths can learn from each other’s struggles and histories, while showing support for women’s religious leadership roles worldwide. Please contribute to this archive by suggesting women of all faiths to be featured through our recommendation form.
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Rosa Parks
People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. 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.
Known For: Civil rights activist
Dates: Common Era 1913-2005 (CE)
Faith: Christianity
Country: United States
About
Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913. At a time when only 7% of blacks earned high school diplomas, Rosa went back to school as an adult in order to complete her studies. It took Rosa three attempts to be able to register to vote, due to the Jim Crow laws of the time.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa boarded a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama after a long day at work. As the bus became more crowded, Rosa was ordered by the bus driver to give up her seat to a white passenger and move to the “colored section” of the bus. Tired of the many indignities suffered by blacks in the South, Rosa refused to move. This simple, yet determined stand led Rosa to become an icon of the civil rights movement.
Rosa was arrested for violating Montgomery’s Jim Crow laws. With the help of Martin Luther King, a boycott of the bus system by blacks in the area was organized. The boycott lasted over a year and was not lifted until the Supreme Court ruled in 1956 that bus segregation was unconstitutional.
For the rest of her life, Rosa worked against racism and inspired all Americans to consider how even simple acts can have great impact.
Sources
Parks, Rosa; James Haskins. Rosa Parks: My Story. Dial Books, 1992 .
