Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. (Photo: Wikipedia)

By Hannah Cangco

Rosa Parks was born on February 4th, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was a civil rights activist. She died on October 24th, 2005, in Detroit, Michigan.

I believe Rosa Parks is an important role model for women, even today. She was a courageous woman who stood up for herself and for other African Americans. For example, on December 1st, 1955, she was brave enough to say “no” to the white man that asked her to give up her seat in the white people’s section of the bus. Many people consider that single act of defiance to be the beginning of the civil rights movement. This happened during the time of segregation, when whites and blacks were separated from one another throughout the southern United States. Rosa Parks was one of the first African American women to stand up for herself, knowing the consequences that would and could happen. To be specific, she got arrested while spurring the Montgomery bus boycott and other efforts to end segregation. Rosa Parks became known as “the mother of the civil rights movement”. In my opinion she is one of the most important women that have ever lived. She is an example for other women–not just for African Americans but for all women–to stand up for themselves and for what they believe in, no matter what others say or do.

Rosa Parks once said, “All 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”.  Heroic women like Rosa Parks can inspire the rest of us to take action. If women join together we can change the world.