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Rosa Parks: refuses to give up her seat on the bus

60 second histories

This video covers:  Rosa Parks tells the story of how she made a protest against the segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat on a bus.

Well it all happened on my way home from work, it was December first nineteen fifty five. I was sitting at the front of the black section on the bus, but by the third stop the bus was filling up and in the white section two or three men were standing. The driver demanded that I, together with three other black passengers, give up our seats for the white folks and although the other black passengers got up, I refused. You know the newspapers reported I was sat in the white section, but I was not. They also reported that I had tired feet and that’s why I wouldn’t give up my seat. Well, I was tired, but the truth is I didn’t want to give up my seat because I was tired, of giving in! The driver Blake had thrown me off the bus before for not wanting to go in around the back, if I had noticed he was the driver I wouldn’t have gotten on the bus. He threatened to call the police if I didn’t give up my seat so I told him “call the police”.
Eras: 
20th Century
Topics: 
Black History
Civil Rights Movement
Character: 
Rosa Parks
Key words: 
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