AMER_200_fa13

Rosa Parks was inducted into the Academy of Achievement in 1995. This website gives a brief biography and highlights regarding Rosa Parks. She lived from 1913 to 2005, passing away at the age of 92. December 01, 1955, was a major turning point for the Civil Rights Movement when Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. As a result, she was arrested and fined. However, this incident led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, which was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They called for a boycott of the city-owned bus company, which lasted for 382 days, and ultimately resulted in racial segregation being outlawed on public transportation.

The Rosa Parks Facts website is a thorough, overall location where one can find out anything about Rosa Parks. There is a link to information regarding her home, pictures, video, biography, timeline, early years, later years, her part in the Civil Rights Movement, her arrest, books, quotes, and even a search option to ask any question regarding Rosa Parks. This is a "one-stop-shop" where one can research anything regarding Rosa Parks. Toward the bottom of the page, there are also links to other Civil Rights figures: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and a Barack Obama biography.

This Smithsonian site is a great place to get lots of information about many different subjects-including Rosa Parks arrest for riding in an "unauthorized" area of a bus. The details of the arrest record of Mrs. Parks and the (now historical) copies of her fingerprints together with a detailed diagram of the scene of her "crime" are astonishing to see.

This site, while covering Martin Luther King Jr. and his struggles for Civil Rights, also covers the U.S. Supreme Court case Browder v. Gayle of 1956 that was a direct result of the bus boycott started in 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus. The Court ruled Alabama's segregated busing was unconstitutional and de-segregated buses began running in Montgomery, Alabama in Dec. 1956

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 gives a comprehensive overview of the event that made Rosa Parks famous; her refusal to continue to follow the established rules that she should sit at the back of the bus. The site not only talks about the event itself but also contains much information about Rosa Parks including a video and biography of this iconic figure.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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 article provides the reader with five examples of civil disobedience. I think most people think about Rosa Parks and Gandhi when they think about civil disobedience but there's a long history, that continues today, of people practicing this method. It's important to recognize how powerful it can be. Gandhi's "Salt March" and industrial workers' sit-ins are two examples shared in this article. Civil disobedience is deeply woven into many cultures, not just our own. Civil disobedience can be expressed by the sheer presence of someone in a place that they don't belong, which we saw with Ms. Parks, which was also the case with the students who sat at the lunch counter and demanded to be served.

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.

History is what this country is made of, and that picture of Rosa Parks will forever be known. The history channel website offers photo galleries, videos, and a focused chronological biography of Rosa's life. The utilization of the History Channel's website is beneficial when exploring the original image because it is a reputable source where you can also find other references to look upon. What I found particularly useful was their "Did You Know?" section which, in fact, did tell me something I did not know about Rosa Parks and her story.

I particularly like this page as it is from Scholastic - a reputable education source. This site provides Rosa's story of how she fought for civil rights and then allows you, the reader, to express how you would feel and/or act if you were in her position. Unlike many other sites which just tell the story, this one has an in-depth interview with Rosa, inquiring about life before civil rights, her role in civil rights, civil rights today (at the time of interview), as well as other miscellaneous questions. I strongly believe this site is useful in exploring the original image as it allows us to better gauge the situation and feel the force behind it.

This website is all about Rosa Parks. Before she showed the world her beliefs in principles and civility, she was just an ordinary individual in her segregated community. After that bus ride, she became engraved in history. Here, you can learn all about her - her history, her story, her beliefs, her principles. This site is useful for the image because it allows you to have a reference as well as a deeper insight to the individual none of us ever had the pleasure of meeting personally. One quote I found on this website I found to be particularly spot-on was: "Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others."

This website revolves around the recent unveiling of Rosa Parks' statue in the Capitol. The bronze statue is modeled after the iconic picture of Rosa on the bus, with her hands folded in her lap, and is the first African-American woman to be immortalized in such a fashion. The website, although it only focuses on this one event, is useful in exploring the original image because it shows us just how much of a profound impact Rosa Parks made that fateful day 58 years ago. It reminds us that no matter how much time elapses, moments are forever remembered and honored.