“I refuse!” » Rosa Parks was an African-American woman who didn't move in the back of the bus. She wanted to be treated like a human being. Rosa Parks, who was 42 at the time, wanted to make a difference for black people. She refused to move to the back of the bus, then started the Montgomery bus boycott with Martin Luther King Jr. Eventually, Rosa was a member of the NAACP and acted as a leader to end segregation in the South. Civil rights activist Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Rosa's childhood provided her early experiences with racial discrimination and activism for racial equality. After her parents separated, Rosa's mother moved the family to Pine Level, Alabama, to live with her parents. Rosa's mother taught her to read from a young age. When she was younger, Rosa attended many segregated schools. In 1929, she attended a laboratory school for secondary education run by the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes. She then had to leave school to care for her mother and grandmother. However, Rosa never returned to her studies; instead, she found employment at a shirt factory in Montgomery. In 1932, at age 19, Rosa met and married Raymond Parks. He was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Rosa later graduated from high school in 1933. She soon became actively involved in civil rights issues, joining the Montgomery chapter of the NACCP in 1943. One day, December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama , Rosa Parks took her seat. on the bus returning from the Montgomery Fair department store where she worked as a seamstress. The bus driver asked her to move back and Rosa refused. She was arrested that day for violation...... middle of paper...... asks if Rosa Parks had moved. Many African Americans would have listened to the white driver and moved, but Rosa had a lot of courage and heart to fight back because she truly wanted this violence to stop and for black people to never suffer again. Rosa Parks will always live in people's hearts and she will never be forgotten. Works cited by Bredhoff, Stacey, Wynell Schamel and Lee Ann Potter. “Rosa Parks Arrest Records.” Social Education 63, 4 (May/June 1999): 207-211. Garrow, David J. “Modest Hero, Civil Rights Icon.” Christian Science Monitor. October 26, 2005: Researcher on NP SIRS issues. Internet. April 21, 2014.Ragghianti, Marie. “‘I wanted to be treated like a human being’.” Parade. January 19, 1992: 20-21. Researcher on SIRS issues. Internet. April 21, 2014. “Rosa Parks Profile.” -- Success Academy. NP, and Web. April 21. 2014.