Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus.
Event Description
On her bus ride home from work on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks sat in the first row of the "colored section." The bus was crowded, and when asked to give up her seat for a white person, she refused and was arrested.
Parks died on October 24, 2005 at her home in Detroit.
Classroom Activity
Rosa Parks clearly broke the law when she refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white person. As educators, we teach citizenship to students. Laws are made to benefit society and should be followed by all. In the case of Parks, your students will likely agree that the law was unjust and her actions were justified.
Ask your students to make believe that the year is 1955 and they just heard about the arrest of Parks. Invite them to write newspaper editorials explaining their points of view about the current segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama.
Websites
Students can visit the Scholastic website to find interesting and easy-to-read information about Rosa Parks, including an interview with her.
Read an interview with Rosa Parks courtesy of the Academy of Achievement.
Tolerance.org offers educators a free curriculum kit for the classroom that revisits this familiar historical event. The kit includes a teaching guide, with classroom activities tied to the story of Rosa Parks.