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This article in the African American History section of About.com gives a brief biographical summary of Parks' life and civil rights accomplishments. Interestingly, it mentions that Parks' was aware of the divide between black and white people as a child, "I'd see the bus pass every day. But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and white world." It is apparent that Parks' would no longer accept what was custom the day she refused to give up her seat on that Montgomery bus. The African American History section on About.com has an extensive collection of historical information, timelines, video clips, facts of African American activists, writers, artists, politicians, and quite a bit of information on Parks and the Civil Rights movement.

This is a great site for finding out information about African Americans and their history and struggle for Civil Rights. It also gives current information about Black Artists and writers. The Montgomery Bus Boycott is also discussed on this site and an account of the shameful conditions with which African American bus riders were faced and the insults that were thrown at them by their white co-passengers gives us an insight into why the Boycott was such an important battle to win.

This website not only discusses how Rosa Parks helped African Americans, but how she also helped women. In those days, women weren't allowed to do much as it was. Rosa Parks changed that in some way when she stood up to a white man on a bus. Rosa Parks single handedly changed the bus rules where African Americans were not only allowed to ride the bus and sit anywhere, but were allowed to apply for jobs as drivers as well. This website is useful in exploring the image because it shows you how one woman had an effect on an entire race. The website even uses the image on it's main page.

Rosa Parks is considered not only hero, but an African American woman who stood up to injustice and decided to take a peaceful stand against segregation. Rosa Parks gave African Americans a sense of dignity that was soon reaffirmed by being able to ride the bus, just like the "whites" did. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was able to use Rosa Park's actions as a platform to claim freedom and equality. This action, caused the African Americans to start realizing that they were equal to the whites. This gave them a sense of entitlement and lead to other movements that benefited all human beings, not only in the United States of America, but all over the world. This "woman" is truly a hero. Walking alone the street in Montgomery county, just like the whites did, was a triumph step towards equality.

This webpage presents a table outlining the many and varied programs brought forth by the New Deal. The table describes the program and its outcome. The New Deal changed the lives of many Americans through the implementing of a minimum wage, the creation of jobs, the banning of child labor and especially the Social Security Act.

The American Progress site dedicates itself to the improvement of the livelihood of Americans. This article addresses the trends in gender equality in the workplace and the deep focus Americans have on clean energy as they look toward the future. By using research of female roles in the job market, the article encourages the presence of women as an equal part of the clean energy workforce. Based on the effects that the clean energy movement will have on the entire population, this article insists on equal representation of ideas form both genders to reach ultimate success.

This article outlines the work of the Communist party in 1930s America. The Communist party was integral in mobilizing the unemployed working class in an effort to get fair and secure pay as well as jobs when unemployment drastically rose during the great depression. The Communist Party lead marches and protests, though they sometimes ended in bloodshed as the media depicted these demonstrations as riots. The party also provided an alternative to the exclusionary American Federation of Labor. It also provided framework for the mobilization of the black worker during this time.

This article from the NY Times site talks about the impact that Betty Friedan's book "The Feminine Mystique" had on altering women's perceptions of their gender roles and their place in American society. While the article is a little lengthy the first page alone offers a great deal of history and statistics concerning the gender gap and its persistence in American culture.

This short article on msmagazine.com describes ten things that American Women could not do before the 1970s. It is an eye opening list of basic things that might be taken for granted today. One strong example of the discrimination is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 which apparently had to be passed as women were able to get fired for being pregnant before its passage. In 1973 Roe vs. Wade protected a woman's right to an abortion up to a certain stage. Before that landmark decision, it was illegal to have an abortion in most cases.

          Well, I am not sure that this is wrong, as much as it is important.  Rosa Parks was not the first African American woman to be given a statue dedication.  However, I think that she is "deserving" of such an honor.  I would like to ask what took so long?  I know that if Parks would still be with us, she would be 100 years old, but being a century old does not precede what she has demonstrated and given to this country.           People say that the best way to change the issues of race is to stop making it an issue, but I have to disagree.  The problem is that people do not want to talk about it, and avoid the discussion by any means necessary.  Hopefully, this article will continue to enable the discussion of race here in the United States of America.

This is a background into the style and history of the photographer of Allie Mae Burroughs, Walker Evans.  He was especially known for taking simplistic photographs and portraits of people in their natural surrounding and settings and by doing so Evans provided a documentary of what life was like in depression era America.  

This site contains a summary of who Walker Evans was and what his photography symbolizes. Within this site many images taken by Evans can be found along with essays and notes on the materials and techniques used.

On October 29, 1929 the stock market crashed. This day is also known as "Black Tuesday". This was the beginning of the Geat Depression Era in America. During the Great Depression, many Americans were unemployed. President Roosevelt introduced the "New Deal" which offered work relief for the American people. America's entry into War World 2 helped supply jobs for the American people. During this time of war, the demand for supplies for war was high. This provided a growth in the economy as more people began to work.

This pbs.org site focuses on the pbs television series "American Experience". This particular page deals with the Great Depression and goes into detail about the stock market crash which triggered the Depression. It is interesting to read how the "imbalance between the rich and poor" was a primary factor in the stock market crash and how the poor were by far the most affected by it. The piece also talks about how the government intially underestimated the crisis and it took the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to eventually bring about an end to the Depression.

The American Civil Liberties Union seeks to "defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties" that are afforded to citizens as outlined in the U.S. Constitution. This page from the ACLU site addresses LGBT rights and seeks to allow LGBT individuals to live "free of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity". The history of LGBT civil rights cases goes back to 1936 and continues to this day.

History.com displays a very informative set of videos, images and articles discussing the meaning behind "Rosie the Riveter", the iconic image associated with gender equality. World War II marked the beginning of changes in gender ideologies as women found themselves carrying out duties that were typically filled by men. Women were also called to the war and the empowerment of a revolution began. 

This website is a very interesting place to read the timeline of the American women's rights movement. It goes all the way back to 1848 up to today. We can see various key events of the movement which slowly led up to the formation of Planned Parenthood as well as the FDA approval of birth control and the legalization of abortion. It is a very good resource to see how the movement evolved as well as the timeline of each important milestone achieved along the process all the way to 2009.

In 1960, the world of American women was limited in almost every respect, from family life to the workplace. A woman was expected to They were legally subject to their husbands via "head and master laws," and they had no legal right to any of their husbands' earnings or property, aside from a limited right to "proper support"; husbands, however, would control their wives' property and earnings. Working women were paid lower salaries than men and denied opportunities promotions. The feminist movement of the 1960s and '70s originally focused on equality in the workplace, such as denial of access to better jobs and salary. Later they began to fight for "women's liberation" which included gaining control of their own private lives. This relates to the image as Donna Gottschalk was a feminist also fighting for women equality as well as gay rights.

American women have struggled historically against certain paradigms of inferiority that all women experience. The female identity is different according to each culture and their customs, but many cultures are based on a patriarchal past where men exercise more power than women. Women worldwide experience subjugation in the form of jobs, education, sexuality and reproductive choice. American women have strived to overcome these stereotypes and have gained a position of near equality in many societal constructs. In the United States today, men and women enjoy almost equal social standing. Women can and do vote, own businesses, hold political office and have a full spectrum of rights. Even though they hold powerful jobs and play valuable roles in a variety of social constructs, the paradigm of the American housewife still exist. With the above mentioned it is important to know that western culture is prevalent worldwide and imposes both the positive feminist ideals and the conflicting negative media messages on third world and developing countries. The impact of Western culture in the specific realm of feminism and female stereotypes globally establish common goals and difficulties for all women. As a dominant culture, the United States must be aware of the media messages it shares with the rest of the world and the examples it promotes as not all are accommodating with other cultures. This site is useful in exploring the image because it paints exactly what the poster of Donna Gottschalk holds, denying women equality, but at the same time practicing America's freedom of speech and expression, forbidden by women in many countries. It's funny that women worldwide continue to experience subjugation in the form of jobs, education, sexuality and reproductive choice. Those countries worldwide that strive to be like us, from a moral point of view should without a doubt accommodate all positives attributes that the America culture places impact, leading to

This is the photo of American civil rights icon Rosa Parks meeting South Africa's icon, Nelson Mandela. The significance is how important each of these people where in the civil rights movement in their respective countries. Both of these people where arrested for their roles and their actions.

This image of the first African American President sitting in the same bus as civil rights icon Rosa Parks speaks volumes. The courage of her stand was part of the civil rights movement that brought about change and still continues to this day.

Rosa Parks is an American icon for her stand against racial injustice and her protest of segregation. This shows her meeting with another icon of racial injustice and segregation; Nelson Mandela.