During the nineteen-fifties, many Americans had an influence on American life. Of these Americans, Rosa Parks was one of the most influential. By refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, she sparked not only the 13-month Montgomery bus boycott, but also the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks was an extremely influential representative of the spirit of the nineteen-fifties.
Rosa Louise Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her parents were James and Leona Edwards McCauley. She had one brother, Sylvester McCauley, who was born in 1915. In 1932, she married Raymond Parks, a civil rights activist and they both worked in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Mrs. Parks worked as a seamstress.
When returning home from work on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks sat in a seat in the black section in the back of the bus. She was tired from a long day of work and was relieved to be able to rest. As more and more people boarded the bus, all of the seats in the "Whites Only" section were occupied and Mrs. Parks was asked to stand so that a white person could take her seat. She refused, and was immediately arrested. Local members of the NAACP met and chose to launch a bus boycott in Montgomery. To support the boycott, black citizens created carpools, rode bikes, or even walked to work. The boycott lasted until about a year later, when the Supreme Court ruled for the desegregation of busses.
Rosa Parks' non-violent protest influenced the U.S. and the spirit of the times in many different ways. The main way that it impacted the spirit of the times was in relationship to the civil rights movement. It was a huge jump in the civil rights movement because it led to the desegregation of busses, which was a huge advancement. Also, it caused Martin Luther King Junior to take one of his biggest leadership positions yet because he was chosen to lead the boycott and his fiery speeches helped him to come to power. Because Rosa Park's protest was non-violent, it proved to others that non-violent protests could have just as big if not bigger an impact than violent ones. Lastly, she showed that women could make a difference. She set an example for others and showed that one person could make a huge difference.
Civil Rights were an extremely important aspect of the fifties. Just a year before Rosa Parks' protest, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas and outlawed segregation in schools. This event along with Rosa Parks' protest sparked the civil rights movement and helped a new generation of civil rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr., come to power. People in the fifties caused Americans to question their values and bring about change, which led to the huge Civil Rights Movement in the sixties.
Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat may seem to us like a small thing, but it was huge in the fifties. It was one of the main sparks of the civil rights movement. Not only did she prove that one person could make a difference, but also that a black woman could make a difference, which set a fabulous example for others. The work of Rosa Parks was extremely influential in the fifties and helped make a better world for us today.

Kallen, Stuart A. The 1950's (A Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades). San Diego, California. Lucent Books, Inc. 1999.

Jennings, Peter, Todd Brewster. The Century. New York, New York. Bantam Doubleday. 1998.

Unknown. "Rosa Louise Parks." Online. Available http://www.apple.com/about/features/rosaparks.html. 19 March 2003.

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