The American Vision: Modern Times © 2008

Chapter 18: The Civil Rights Movement

Web Lesson Plans

Introduction
Students have read about how the civil rights movement galvanized when Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger. In this activity students will identify how Parks's actions and personal qualities impacted the civil rights movement.

Lesson Description
Students will use information from the Time 100: Rosa Parks Web site to learn about Parks's decision to challenge Montgomery's segregation laws. Students will read about how Parks made her decision, what qualities helped her to challenge the law, and what happened after she refused to give up her seat. Students will then answer four questions and apply this information by delivering an introductory speech that describes the character and accomplishments of Parks.

1. Students will identify Rosa Parks and explain how her decision to challenge segregation laws impacted the civil rights movement.
2. Students will be able to use this knowledge to deliver an introductory speech that describes the character and accomplishments of Parks.

1. African American passengers were not allowed to enter a bus through its front door. After paying the fare, they had to exit the bus and reload through the rear entrance. If the "white" section was full, they had to move farther back when another white entered the bus. Also, African Americans were not allowed to sit across the aisle from white passengers. If an African American protested any of these practices, he or she was arrested for violating the segregation laws.
2. She was married and employed, and she demonstrated quiet strength, dignity, and political savvy.
3. Although the day of the bus boycott was rainy, Montgomery's African American population stayed off the busses by walking or catching cabs. African American cab drivers charged 10 cents per customer, which was standard bus fare, on the day of the boycott.
4. Ms. Parks was arrested, released on bail, tried, convicted, and fined. Her act sparked a citywide boycott of the bus system by African Americans that lasted more than a year. The boycott raised Martin Luther King, Jr., to national prominence and resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation on city buses. For her continued work in the struggle for civil rights, Parks has received numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
5. Students' introductions will vary.