Sitting Down to Take a Stand: Remembering Rosa Parks

Celebrate this icon of the American Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Parks became an icon of the American Civil Rights Movement by courageously refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama commuter bus on December 1, 1955. This act sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for more than a year. It also thrust the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as leader of the boycott, into the forefront of the African American struggle for justice and equality.

In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that assigned bus seating based on race was unconstitutional and officially outlawed it in the United States.

Join the Maryland Humanities Council in honoring the memory of Rosa Parks. Highlight her relevancy today with Sitting Down to Take a Stand—Remembering Rosa Parks, a 4-month long, multi-faceted celebration centering on December 1, 2008.