-
Birth
-
Period: to
Rosa Parks' Life
-
Period: to
Working.
Works several jobs as housekeeper, seamstress, secretary and life insurance agent. Spends her spare time active in the voter registration movement and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). -
Period: to
NAACP
Serves as secretary for the Montgomery, Alabama, branch of the NAACP. -
Arrest
Parks is arrested for not giving up her seat on a public bus to a white man while on her way home from her job as a seamstress at the Montgomery Fair department store, thus violating Jim Crow practices. -
Start of Montgomery bus boycott.
Day one of the 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system in response to Parks' arrest and segregation in general. It becomes known as the official beginning of the civil rights movement. On the same day, Parks is tried and found guilty of violating Montgomery's segregation laws. Her attorneys appeal the verdict, arguing the laws are unconstitutional. -
Supreme court ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court declares Montgomery bus segregation laws unconstitutional and illegal. -
Public transport integration.
The court's written order is officially served to Montgomery officials. The boycott ends and buses are integrated. -
Relocation.
Parks and her husband Raymond move to Detroit, Michigan, with other family members to escape pro-segregation harassment. She continues activist work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. -
Period: to
Working again.
Works as administrative assistant to U.S. Representative John Conyers. -
Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute Establishment.
Founds the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, an organization offering career training, education and motivation to 12 to 18-year-olds in Detroit, Michigan. -
Bust of Rosa Parks.
The Smithsonian Institute unveils a bronze bust of Parks in the National Portrait Gallery. -
Autobiography.
The autobiography, "Rosa Parks: My Story," is published. -
Award.
Given the first International Freedom Conductor Award from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. -
Racial Harmony Address.
Attends the State of the Union Address, sits with First Lady Hillary Clinton and is mentioned in the address with regards to the country's efforts to bring about racial harmony. -
Congressional gold medal.
Is presented the Congressional Gold Medal by President Bill Clinton. -
'Rosa Parks Story'
National Parks Service puts Parks' Montgomery home on the National Registry of Historic Places. "The Rosa Parks Story" premieres on television. -
Second Lawsuit.
She files a second lawsuit against the music group Outkast over their song "Rosa Parks," seeking $5 billion from record and distribution companies and stores that sold the song, claiming the song violated her publicity and trademark rights. -
Parks' Dementia.
Parks' lawyer confirms that Parks has dementia. -
Perks' Guardian.
Legal dispute surrounding the appointment of a guardian for Parks: A judge appoints former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer the legal guardian of Parks, but Park's lawyer files a motion to block Archer's appointment. -
Medical records release.
A judge releases Parks' medical records showing that she has suffered from dementia since at least 2002, two years before the $5 billion lawsuit was filed in her name. -
Song settlement.
A settlement in the suit against Outkast and record and distribution companies is announced. OutKast and co-defendants will help develop educational programs and will work with the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute to promote Parks' legacy. -
Death.
Rosa Parks dies at the age of 92 of natural causes.