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I personally did not think of how extensive civil rights arrest were.  Many of the civil rights arrests during the 1950s and 1960s went to trial.  Charles Langford was the lawyer who represented Rosa Parks.  I think many people think that people are arrested and then shortly released thereafter.  However, Jim Crow laws were very real and had serious offenses.  The article states that Fred D. Gray and Charles Langford were the only two black lawyers in Montgomery (Charles Langford, 84, Lawyer Who Represented Rosa Parks, Dies).

This article gives more insight into Rosa Parks' character.  It seems that many of these type of articles, stories, plays, etc., come out years after people pass away or fade out of the public's eye.  I think in some cases the media has tried to vilify people like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Medgar Evers--to name a few.  The book mentioned in this article gives a personal account of Parks' heroic stand against inequality.

I found another article regarding a woman who refused to give up her seat before Rosa Parks.  The article suggests that people like Irene Morgan Kirkaldy were one of the many people before Rosa Parks.  The article states that Kirkaldy refused to give up her seat more than 10 years before Rosa Parks.  I also like how the article is titled "Fighting Jim Crow Before Rosa Parks."  Transportation was also included in Jim Crow laws.  I am learning so many new things about American history as I do this assignment.  

This was an interesting article as well.  I did not know that there were people before Rosa Parks that refused to give up their seat for a Caucasian patron.  I think the media wants us to believe this as well.  Would the picture in this week's assignment be as important if other people like Claudette Colvin would have been given more publicity or coverage?  There probably are many other pictures like the one in this week's assignment, but American history really only uses this picture. As I mentioned in another link, the United States of America has a terrible problem of forgetting, and also being content with being ignorant to other cultures, experiences and lifestyles.

          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.

I think that this is an interesting picture for many reasons. Firstly, it not only shows how far civil rights have come, it shows how far the United States of America still has to go. This picture means a lot to me because I think too often in America, people have the terrible case of forgetting. This picture is a reminder of our history. Also, I think this is an important article/picture because President Obama referred to the American dream in his response to his visit. The American dream continues to change--especially since civil rights issues continue to take place more than 50 years later. And, it also shows that we need to continue to preserve our history.

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.

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 work describes how one woman sparked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The act of Rosa Parks caused not only pride among those who were mistreated and segregated in society, but also created inspiration. Her single act of courage moved many others to speak aloud and stand up for their rights as well. Describes the boycott organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, where African-Americans used every alternative for travel, proving their worth in society as equals. The Montgomery boycott sparked the attention of one very important man in history, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Another very informative website that goes into much more detail and provides analytic insight into the ideas of race from 800bc through today. The most interesting find in this work is that during roman times, racism did not exist. According to the site "slaves were both black and white". It wasn't until the end of the 16th century that the slave trade began using only African-Americans as slaves. Because religion frowned upon the type of abuse and humiliation that the slaves were enduring, governments had to state to society that they were an "inferior race", thus racism began. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat because she knew that races should not be divided, that the segregation that began as a way to separate people based on their skin pigment was unjust. The photo is directly related to the history of racism.

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 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.

This article gives a good brief history of the Jim Crow laws passed around the united states after the civil war. I found it very interesting that right after the civil war, african americans had a great deal of freedoms in the south and only after the withdrawal of north's troops and a supreme court decision that blacks and whites could be "separate but equal" that the situation got inherently worse over the next twenty years. Not only segregation but voter limits as well as social mobility laws were passed which significantly affected civil rights based on white supremacy ideology.

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 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 particular site allows us to read the speech Martin Luther King Jr gave while origanizing the boycott. Its fascinating to read the speech that inspired so many blacks in the iconic boycott. With his words, he managed to motivate blacks to fight for their rights in a peaceful manner.

This site lists ten things that you (we) likely may not know about Rosa Parks: 1) she had been thrown off the bus by the same bus driver; 2) she was a life-long believer in self-defense; 3) her husband was her political partner; 4) many of her ancestors were Indian; 5) her arrest had a grave effect on her family's health and economic well-being; 6) needing to leave Montgomery eight months after the boycott ended, she spent the majority of her life in the North; 7) after two decades of political work, she received her first paid political position in 1965; 8)she was far more radical than had been understood; 9) she was an internationalist; and 10) she was a life-long hero and activist to Nelson Mandela.

This website is a great Quick Facts snapshot of information regarding Rosa Parks with a 4.5 minute biography video. This website contains sections of a Synopsis, Civil Rights Pioneer, Early Life and Education, Ordered to the Back of the Bus, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Racial Discrimination, and Death and Legacy. There is also a photo gallery and videos, quotes and a "Best Known For" section which states that Rosa Parks was best known for her refusal to give up a seat on the bus to a white passenger, which spurred the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end racial segregation.