“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right” (Parks). This means to always trust your gut and stick up for yourself when you know you should. Rosa Parks was a woman of color, living from 1913-2005. She’s the one who stayed in her seat on the bus when she was told to get up and move seats so a white male could have hers. Rosa soon got arrested and fined. She held her ground, standing up for her basic rights as a human being. Rosa Parks helped Black Americans gain more freedom and rights after the boycott on the bus while also inspiring others to stand up for themselves and not accept discrimination. 

 To start off with, Rosa Parks stood up for herself and showed bravery by not giving her seat up to a white person on the bus in 1955. In this quote, she showed bravery by staying in her seat and later getting arrested for it: “When, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white passenger, she was arrested for violating the state's segregation law” (Cohen). This evidence tells one main thing that Rosa Parks did to gain her recognition. It shows her bravery for standing up for herself and her human rights when everybody else was too scared to do so. Even though Rosa knew the consequences, she still broke the rules and fought for herself. This is seen when she started the boycott: “The boycott of public buses by blacks in Montgomery lasted 381 days, marking the country’s first large-scale demonstration against segregation” (The). This shows how Rosa knew there would be effects of not giving up her seat and that she could get in trouble for those effects, such as the boycott that was detrimental to bus companies and lasted over a year, but she decided to go with her gut and be brave anyways. Rosa Parks was tired of moving for people and decided she needed to change how she was treated. She said this in her own autobiography, explaining why she was tired: “ ‘People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired,” wrote Parks in her autobiography, “but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically… No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in’ ” (History.com). This proves that Rosa was  not physically tired from a long hard day of work, but tired of this prejudice. She chose to not move from her seat. It further shows that even though she knew she had to move or there would be consequences, her human rights are more important. She was brave because she knew that everyone else would move, yet she still didn’t. 

 As much as we know about the bus boycott, Rosa Parks helped with so many other situations other than just the bus boycott. She also helped the civil rights movement go into place by inspiring other people to be brave and stand up. “Rosa Parks (1913—2005) helped initiate the civil rights movement in the United States when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Her actions inspired the leaders of the local Black community to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott” (History.com).This evidence shows how Rosa Parks inspires other people. She inspired other people to stand up for themselves and not just go along with what they are told. They held a boycott to not use buses which lasted around 381 days. This was first represented by Rosa when she did not give up her seat to a white individual. Although we know her as someone who protested in a bus, she also helped many other situations such as, “Rosa Parks was shocked to find out that schools up north, like in Detroit, were also segregated. She joined a movement, lending her support to John Conyers for his bid in Congress. He employed Rosa as his secretary and was in the job till her retirement” (NAACP). This highlights how she was involved with helping colored Americans get their rights even after the bus incident. It shows how inspiring she was that even Conyer trusted her to help him in his office. Even after her retirement she keeps in contact with everyone and everything knowing what she can do to further help more into the movement. “Parks remained active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s and helped investigate the killing of three Black teenagers in 1967 race riot in Detroit” (NAACP Authors). This evidence shows how she was remaining in contact with everyone and helping people with their rights. She helped adults and even teens. 

Lastly, back then and still today Rosa Parks has inspired people to stand up for their rights. Even to this day, her influence on the world is still spread and shown to people. Rosa Park’s attributions to the world are still talked about today: “Rosa Parks was one of the most influential leaders to have ever lived, leaving a great impact on the world. Many Americans have looked up to her in admiration because of what she stood for and how courageous she was” (The). This evidence shows how Rosa Parks inspired many other people around the world. It says how she inspired them because of her way of showing how courageous she is. Even though her impacts on the world and efforts to stop discrimination happened a while ago, her legacy is still talked about to this day. Her perseverance for what she believed in inspired many people: “Her act gave African Americans a new sense of pride and purpose and inspired non-violent protests in other cities. Many consider her singular act of protest to be the event that sparked the Civil Rights movement” (The). This helps add to the fact that Rosa was an inspiration to people. Just her doing that simple act of refusing to give up her seat resulted in people all over the country recognizing this act and inspiring them to do something similar themselves. A book written about Rosa Parks shows her influence on civil rights through her various writings: “The book, Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words, by Susan Reybum, is a companion to the exhibition and reveals the civil rights icon through her private manuscripts and handwritten notes” (Terek). This evidence shows how Rosa Parks inspired Reybum to write a book about her. All the way from Rosa Parks actually standing up for herself, to somebody writing a book about her, Rosa inspired people of all ages. This book can still be read today which shows the huge influence she made on people all over the world. 

Rosa Parks had a huge impact on the civil rights movement, helping Americans of color gain the courage to stand their ground, and gain their basic human rights. Rosa inspired people to stand up for their rights, she was a part of numerous events put together to stop segregation, and she stood her ground on a bus in 1955. Even today people of color still face discrimination. Although, Rosa Parks and her actions as a civil rights activist have resulted in less discrimination today then there would have been without her.