The Rosa Parks Museum Tells the Story That Needed to Be Told

The Rosa Parks Museum is a significant place in Alabama history, as it tells the story of what really happened to this extremely brave lady.

Located on the Troy University Satellite campus, you can find the museum at 252 Montgomery Street, in Montgomery Alabama.

Because of its location, it makes in one of the most desirable Alabama backroad day trips.

The Women's Civil Rights Movement

The Rosa Parks Museum has several informational exhibits, as well as a few artifacts from the actual 1955 Montgomery bus boycott.

The inside of the museum has several interactive activities for the entire family as well as an actual reenactment of what actually happened on the bus.

The Rosa Parks Museum and the Lady Herself

The Outside of The Rosa Parks Museum

In the reenactment, you are setting outside of the bus, but can see everything that is happening on the inside, just like you are there in real life.

Because of this single incident, this brave lady was named the “Mother of the Civil Right Movement”.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born on February 4, 1913, and then passed on October 24, 2005.

As mentioned earlier, because of her brave actions, she is considered the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”.

In fact, later in her life the United States Congress called her “the first lady of civil rights" as well as the “mother of the freedom movement”.

If you take just a minute to reflect on those statements, they are extremely powerful that one person could achieve such accolades.

Here Is Her Story

Exhibit of the 60's Style Buses In Montgomery Alabama

On December 1, 1955, in her hometown of Montgomery Alabama, Rosa Parks was ordered to give up her seat by bus driver James F. Blake.

However, she did something that was considered for the times extraordinary---SHE REFUSED”.

While most of history tries to tell you the reason, she refused was that she had worked all day and was tired, this was not true.

She had experienced an incident with this same driver several years before and she was now becoming active in the civil rights movement.

So, she decided to fight back again, like she did 12 years ago.

A white rider got onto the bus, but the “white only” section of the bus was full.

So, the driver of the bus did what he had done on several other occasions, and told a black passenger, in this case Rosa Parks, to give up her seat to the white passenger.

After all, at the time it was the “law” and there should have been no major issues.

However, little did he know that not only was history about to be made, it was about to be eventually changed by this small and unassuming black lady.

However, it is important to note that this was not the first time this had happened when a black refused to give up their seat, but it was defiantly going to be the loudest and most famous.

The reason is very simple; the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People thought she would be the best candidate to go to court with.

However, it was Ms. Parks’ refusal that the Rosa Parks Museum is centered on and was the trigger point for what would soon be known as the “Montgomery Bus Boycott”.

In fact, both her defiance and the boycott became “key” symbols to the movement and she soon became an International Icon known literally worldwide.

It was not long before the top civil right leaders such as Edgar Nixon, President of the local chapter of the NAACP, as well as Martin Luther King Jr. sought her out.

So, the NAACP went to work and set the stage for their court challenge of Ms. Parks arrest for civil disobedience.

Her crime was violating the Alabama segregation laws.

The Rosa Parks Museum and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

A Replica of the Buses In Montgomery Alabama in the 1960's.

A Bus and Passenger Exhibit at The Rosa Parks Museum

Before going into the actual boycott, it is helpful to understand the Montgomery bus laws at the time.

In the year 1900—yes 1900—the city of Montgomery passed a law and city ordinance that allowed them to segregate bus passengers by race.

Set back and think about that for a minute and today’s laws.

It was unbelievable that this was not challenged for 55 years.

However, the coming boycott was about to change all of that.

As mentioned earlier, this had happened and blacks were arrested, but it was the first time they were ready to fight back.

On December 4, 1955, plans for the boycott were announced by the civil rights leaders in all of the Montgomery black churches.

However, it also made the front page of the Montgomery Advertiser, so everyone was aware of what was coming.

The boycott began and all the black participants made the decision to keep it going until the following things happened.

They were treated with a level of courtesy
Black bus drivers were hired
Seating in the precious “middle” of the bus was handled on a first come first served bases.

Because of this brave lady, it all came to pass and the Rosa Parks Museum details all of it.

References

https://www.troy.edu/student-life-resources/arts-culture/rosa-parks-museum/index.html