Why Is Rosa Parks Considered A History Of Activism

From the moment Rosa Parks could speak, she had something to say. As she grew older, those words that she spoke would catapult the civil rights movement into what it is known as today. Most of the time, there are some frustrating misconceptions about who Rosa Parks was. Her history of activism is sometimes blatantly overlooked in the eyes of those who don’t know her whole story. From her work with the NAACP Youth Council, voter registration efforts, to her attendance of the Highlander Folk School. These brave displays of activism are not always the first things one thinks about when they hear the name, Rosa Parks. To truly understand Rosa Parks’s legacy, one needs to educate themselves on these important landmarks in civil rights history.
In 1949, she and Johnnie Carr founded the Youth Council. At first, the group seemed to be doing very well but it soon died out due to lack of membership. The increase of violence against the black community made the time period a frightening one to join the NAACP. In 1954, the Youth Council saw a sudden increase in membership under Parks’s authority. Some black parents were hesitant to have their children participate in something so dangerous. Despite this, a small group of children regularly came to the meetings held in Parks’s apartment on Sundays. During these sessions, Parks took control of the room and demanded a serious attitude from each of the members. Parks taught the youngsters listening and note taking skills and stressed the importance of neatness. Rosa Parks had the children of the Youth Council remember the significance of being active and reminded them of their own self-worth. Parks didn’t let the children forget their rights and the power of the vote. These values endured throughout the existence of the NAACP Youth Council chapter that Rosa Parks led and still hold true
When they traveled to downtown Montgomery, they always drank from the white water fountain. Doing this, Rosa Parks reminded each black child that they shouldn’t feel less important because of the color of their skin. Parks took the kids to meetings all across Alabama and encouraged the black members of those cities to vote. They encouraged black voters to not be afraid to register and even helped them prepare for the registration tests. In addition to attending meetings, they also did citizenship education and met with other active young people. Traveling around the state, Parks also tried to make connections to find funds to send the Youth Council members to college. Parks regularly encouraged the group to protest. They attended several protests at the main library, which all ultimately did not change anything. But the children were persistent. They wrote letters to Washington and didn’t spend time arguing over motions. The young people of the NAACP Youth Council were deeply moved by Rosa Parks’s determination and leadership. Most people do not know about Parks’s tireless endeavors with this organization, so they do not know what she went through to make the Youth Council possible. The amount of respect and support that Parks showed the children of the Youth Council truly reveals what kind of person she was. Parks’s work with the children of the civil rights movement remains a key characteristic in her