Answer :
Rosa Parks defied the segregationist policies of the Montgomery public transportation system when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on December 1, 1955. Her action led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement, with widespread community support. Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin were among the African Americans who courageously resisted bus segregation.
When Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on a Montgomery city bus on December 1, 1955, she was defying the segregationist policies of the public transportation system. These rules mandated that African American passengers sit at the back of the bus and relinquish their seats to white passengers when the bus was full.
Though Parks' act of resistance was not the first, her arrest became the catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a landmark event in the Civil Rights Movement. Activists, including the Montgomery NAACP and respected figures in the black community, mobilized in support of Parks, distributing flyers and arranging meetings to organize a response.
While Parks is well-known for her pivotal role, she was among several individuals who challenged the injustice of bus segregation. Earlier in that year, a high school student named Claudette Colvin was also arrested for not giving up her seat on a Montgomery bus.
However, Colvin's case did not spark the same widespread outrage and organized action that followed Parks' defiance. This distinction highlights the strategic and collective nature of the civil rights struggle, as subsequent protests, including the bus boycott, were carefully planned acts of non-violent direct action seeking to dismantle racial segregation.
