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This site is rather short and to the point. Francisca Stewart summarizes what happened on the bus and how civil disobedience was used to make change. She also shared what happened in the years to follow, including the new rules that allowed both blacks and whites to sit where they chose. This site is useful to get a quick understanding of what the picture is about.

This site explores the impact of the Jim Crow Laws. It starts by giving you a brief background about the civil rights movement. It divides the US up by regions and discusses the right of blacks in each area, which is helpful in understanding what it was like where Rosa lived. There are many examples included for each state on how the laws were implemented. In Alabama, all passenger bus stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races. This was on top of separate seating areas once aboard the bus.

It takes a lot of courage to stand up for something that is morally right, especially in a time when standing for what's right was not popular, due to the results that would follow after. Rosa Parks in the year of 1955, as many know it, kept sitting to stand up for what's right, and furthermore human rights. Although she was jailed and fined, her bravery helped society in many ways, like the end of the segregated transportation law posed by Jim Crow. Mrs. Parks did not care about the odds against her nor the criticism; in an era of ample bias against people of color. This sites content is useful in exploring week two's image of race in America, because it places focus on how change "can" happen with just one person, in the toughest of social times. A focus on courage not just for self help but for all (as Mrs. Parks was a member of the NAACP; an organization up in arms with the Jim Crow laws) who were the victims and the conscious or unconscious offenders, a social movement that was another zenith to the ascent of man. Heidi Beckles

The reason I chose something other than the discussion of Rosa Parks is because I do not think that you can speak about one thing without speaking about the other in the Civil Rights Movement.  This is just important as its former.  Also, in this picture is Martin Luther King, Jr., who is another iconic figure in the Civil Rights Movement.  This is particularly important as we have just reached the 50th Anniversary on the March on Washington.  Voting rights was not only a race issue, it was a gender issue.  The article speaks about the optimism that many people had during these times.  People thought that change was possible.  You cannot have change without optimism.

I was really excited to have come across this document. It is a primary source from the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), written shortly after bus segregation was deemed unconstitutional in 1956. The text reads as a list, for those who followed the MIA, on how to continue to act and conduct themselves in light of the recent changes to law. One line stands out, "Demonstrate the calm dignity of our Montgomery people in your actions." It makes me think of Ms. Parks in the image that was taken, and keeping in mind how it had been said before that she was of outstanding character, the quote resonates with me in that I see her as something of a model for everyone else to follow at the time.

This is a short interview with Rosa Parks. In watching this interview, we are afforded the opportunity to hear from Ms. Parks herself as she gives her account of the day of her arrest. She gives the viewer a feel for the climate of things back then, though it is a more general rather than detailed idea. If anything, this interview adds life to the photo and is a chance for us to hear a firsthand account.

This is an excerpt from a book titled "The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks". The details are exceptional as she tells the story of segregation and racism in the 50's. She goes on to tell a detailed story of what happened on December 1st, 1955, noting that she had issues with the particular bus driver before and his attempt to humiliate her and other African-Americans.It includes issues on women rights as well, noting that Mrs. Parks intentions were not only in regard to racism, but in regard to being a woman since it was not the norm for a woman to ever give up her seat for a man.

A summarized timeline of the civil rights movement. This website summarizes the steps that lead to desegregation in America. From the "Brown decision" in 1954 to the voting acts right in 1965. Included in this online exhibit is a short summary of Rosa Parks and the role she played toward desegregation. The summary includes the actual news paper article that discusses her arrest and charges that day. This website also includes detailed photos and summaries of other historical events taking place relative to the civil rights movements.

This website retraces the events of the day as pictured in the photograph. Not only does it go over the event in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, but it also discusses the bus strike of 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. Details are also provided of the organization behind the strike, Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), along with a brief explanation of Dr. Martin Luther King's and Ralph Abernathy's involvement. There is also a short summary of the resulting court decision on segregated busing in 1956, along with an example of the sort of pamphlets that were circulated at the time to announce the bus strike back in 1955. This site serves to provide not only a brief, yet well rounded explanation of this photo's history, but gives us an understanding of who was behind the strike as well as what resulted from their effort.

The following website lists the events surrounding Parks' arrest and that of the bus strike in chronological order, which can be helpful in making sense of the order in which things took place. This site in particular is very good for understanding the bus strike that took place only days after Parks' arrest in terms of understanding context and how much work and effort strike organizer's and participants went through to see that the strike would be successful. I was surprised to have learned about the lengths the Black community went through to see the strike be successful -carpooling, discounted taxi rides, regular meetings to discuss the state of the strike. Now having read the material hosted at this site, I look at the photograph and wonder if Parks had any idea what was come, what had been set in motion.

On October 25, 2005, the New York Times released an in-depth article on Rosa Parks - she had passed. This article delved into the history of her iconic image and her story, from seamstress to rebel to civil rights leader. Every story, article, dedication, etc. is different as no one feels exactly the same as the next, nor do they all have to same resources and references. The NY Times' article included a bit of everything, from her birth & childhood to her education, her personal life, and her thoughts on the late Dr. King. This article supported that her heroic action was not meant to be an act of straight defiance, but of a grown individual trying to show that all people are on the same level.

Particularly in the beginning of this website's piece, what is special about this webpage is the amount of background information that is given. When you visit this site you are able to read and learn about the ongoing struggle that the Black community in America faced, well before Rosa Parks was arrest on December 1st, 1955. What was interesting to discover in this encyclopedia entry was that Ms. Parks was not the first person to be arrested for not giving up their seat because of their race. What this entry does for our understanding and appreciation of the photograph is that we are provided a concise yet detailed account of the events surrounding the bus strike, the ruling of segregated buses in 1956, as well as history of before Park's arrest. This information helps us understand that there is much more the photograph that what may have previously understood.

This website provides more context and background to the infamous moment on the Montgomery bus captured in the initial image shown. The lore states that Parks refused to give up the seat because her feet were tired after a long day of working but in reality, she was aware of plans of local activists to challenge the bus laws. Her arrest propelled the civil rights movement forward and resulted in a year long bus boycott. This website presents Rosa Parks angle differently than most others tend to. It's interesting to see her described as a part of the movement as opposed to someone who just happened to be somewhere.

This webpage is presented by PBS. It is a part of series produced by the organization. This webpage is not explicitly about Rosa Parks but it is still very relevant. This webpage presents "A Century of Segregation". It provides incredible background information about the history of our country and monumental events that occurred prior to Rosa Parks and the subsequent bus boycotts. The tabs are presented on a timeline and each tab, when clicked, provides more information such as "March on Washington", "Ku Klux Klan" and "Jackie Robinson". It's important to look at such historical events within a historical context because very seldom are these events isolated.

This website presents a brief of overview of Rosa Parks historical arrest. During the civil rights movement Ms. Parks chose to sit in a seat on the bus that was not designated for black people. She chose to practice civil disobedience and assert what she felt was her right to be seated wherever she pleased. This website provides another image related to the initial class image, it is an image of her being booked for the crime that she committed. There is a lot to the story and this website gives information about what happened after that moment on the bus.

This short essay explains why the NAACP decided to use Rosa Parks' case to advance the Civil Rights movement rather than others before her. Parks was not the first to refuse to give up her seat to a white person, but she was a good candidate for the fight. As in everything political, image is everything. Parks had a better image than a poor unwed pregnant teen or a poor high school dropout working as a maid.

Did you know that Rosa Parks was not the first woman to refuse to give up her seat to a white passenger? This link is the biography of Claudette Colvin who at the age of fifteen (That's right, 15) refused to give up her seat for a white passenger in Montgomery Alabama. The reason her arrest was not used by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was because of her age and the fact that she got pregnant around the same time she got arrested. Claudette's incident happened nine months before the better known Rosa Parks incident.

This PBS site about the Jim Crow era shows the very interesting side of how the Supreme Court basically had a crucial role in the establishment, maintenance and the end of Segregation and Jim Crow laws in the US. Presidents did not challenge these laws due in part that some of them agreed with the white supremacy ideology themselves. Congress was largely silent since they did not want to alienate the southern states again.

This site has a few more examples of Jim Crow laws across various states in the US. It also has a reference to the timeline of the segregation period in the US. While we remember that there was segregation in the US, it is sometimes hard to imagine how restrictive this period was until we read examples of different laws in different places. All based on the supreme court statement of "Separate but Equal." When reading these laws, I couldn't help but think of all the restrictions that still exist these days on other communities.

This website talks about Rosa Parks humble beginnings ans how there were other supporters behind her who were willing to risk their lives to defending the cause. Some of these supporters were 'white.' Clifford and Virginia Durr, encouraged Rosa Parks to go to school and sponsored the long stay. This was the basis for learning who to strategically protest without being or using violence. Then, the real meaning is that Rosa Parks was the front person for other people who believe in equality, and the freedom of other. Rosa Parks endured a great deal of problems for her action, some of them legal, Rosa Parks violated the 'white law of segregation", but it was well worth it. The world benefited.