Rosa Parks was an activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The United States Congress has called her “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order to give up her seat in the “colored section” to a white passenger, after the whites-only section was filled. Parks was not the first person to resist bus segregation, but the NAACP believed that she was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws. Parks’ prominence in the community and her willingness to become a controversial figure inspired the black community to boycott the Montgomery buses for over a year, the first major direct action campaign of the post-war civil rights movement. May her quotes inspire you to stand up for yourself so that you may live your dreams.
1. “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.” Rosa Parks
2. “Each person must live their life as a model for others.” Rosa Parks
3. “I believe there is only one race – the human race.” Rosa Parks
4. “No.” Rosa Parks
5. “Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.” Rosa Parks
6. “Racism is till with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and hopefully, we shall overcome.” Rosa Parks
7. “I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.” Rosa Parks
8. “I’m tired of being treated like a second-class citizen.” Rosa Parks
9. “I believe we are here on the planet earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.” Rosa Parks
10. “I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.” Rosa Parks
11. “I paid the same fare as others, and I felt violated. I was not going back.” Rosa Parks
12. “As far back as I can remember, I knew there was something wrong with our way of life when people could be mistreated because of the color of their skin.” Rosa Parks
13. “People need to free their minds of all racial prejudice.” Rosa Parks
14. “I see the energy of young people as a real force for positive change.” Rosa Parks
15. “Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today’s mighty oak is yesterday’s nut that held its ground.” Rosa Parks
16. “I was a person with dignity and self-respect, and I should not set my sights lower than anybody else just because I was black.” Rosa Parks
17. “I will always work for human rights for all people.” Rosa Parks
18. “What really matters is not whether we have problems, but we go through them. We must keep going on to make it through whatever we are facing.” Rosa Parks
19. “The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.” Rosa Parks
20. “God has always given me the strength to say what is right.” Rosa Parks
21. “There is just so much hurt, disappointment, and oppression one can take. The line between reason and madness grows thinner.” Rosa Parks
22. “Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way.” Rosa Parks
23. “Why do you all push us around?” Rosa Parks
24. “All I was doing was trying to get home from work.” Rosa Parks
25. “There is no future without education.” Rosa Parks
26. “At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in.” Rosa Parks
27. “I had given up my seat before, but this day, I was especially tired. Tired from my work as a seamstress, and tired from the ache in my heart.” Rosa Parks
28. “I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move.” Rosa Parks
29. “There was an opportunity for me to take a stand.” Rosa Parks
30. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” Rosa Parks
31. “One person can change the world.” Rosa Parks
32. “I will no longer act on the outside in a way that contradicts the truth that I hold deeply inside. I will no longer act as if I were less than the whole person I know myself inwardly to be.” Rosa Parks
33. “Without vision, people perish, and without courage and inspiration dreams die.” Rosa Parks
34. “To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.” Rosa Parks
35. “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free -so other people would be also free.” Rosa Parks
