Rosa Parks As A Global Citizen
Everyone has heard about Rosa Parks, if you haven’t she was a woman who was arrested for sitting in the front of the bus. She was a woman who believed in equality and fairness to everyone no matter who they were or what they were. When we think about what a global citizen is, we often think about people who care about the environment and people who take action, although this is true a global citizen is also defined as a person who changed society in a positive way. When we think of Rosa parks we think that she is activist, but she was more. She was a woman who changed society in a positive way by standing up for rights for colored people, and proving to people that she can get a good job even if she is African American. Rosa Parks is a global citizen because she was trying to make all races equal and treated fairly. If you don’t agree with me then let this essay prove to you that Rosa Parks is a global citizen.
Rosa Parks has been through many experiences that discriminated her and many other individuals. In her autobiography, she wrote about when she was homeschooled until the age of 11 and when she went to a public school she was treated differently because of the colour of her skin, for example Rosa wrote that when she went to school she and all African Americans were only allowed to sit in the back of the bus, she also had described that she wasn’t allowed to use the same bathrooms, water fountains, same classrooms, and the same library as the white people. Rosa was a full activist when her grandparents told her about there past as former slaves who were treated terribly and how they were working in poor conditions, when Rosa thought about how she was treated differently and what had happened to her grandparents she thought about what she could do stop racism? She wanted to help but how could she, but the one question that had always lingered Rosa’s mind was why were all the dark-skinned people treated differently. “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome”. Rosa Parks had said this about her childhood and about how her mother had told her about how she would be treated differently.
When Rosa Parks was old she was announced as the first woman to be employed at the Maxwell Air Force base. Rosa Parks said that she would take the bus to and from work every day, and that one day when she first started working she was taking the bus and the bus driver told her to get out of the bus and re-enter through the back because she wasn’t allowed to enter the bus through the front because of the colour of her skin, Rosa had got very upset and left the bus and walked home. Rosa had also said that about 12 years later the same bus driver had told her to get off the seat because the seat, was for white people only and because there was no more room on the bus, so she would have to stand, Rosa had gotten very frustrated and said that she wouldn’t move because she was tired, and it wasn’t fair. But the bus driver had told her that if she didn’t move he would call the police Rosa still didn’t move so the driver had called the police and they had arrested her. When Rosa was put into jail she was yelled at for using the water fountain which was only allowed for white people, After Rosa was yelled at for using the water fountain she sat down and just thought about what she could do to stop racism. Finally, after a while of sitting Rosa was bailed out of jail by husband, and was told that she was fired because she had not cooperated with the bus driver.
After, Rosa’s arrest she had enough she was tired of being treated unfairly because of the colour of her skin, Rosa had decided she would go to the Civil Rights movement where she asked them to help to get rights for coloured people, when they asked Rosa what she wanted to do she said she wanted to start a Bus Boycott where anyone who wanted to help her would go to the street where she was arrested. When the Bus Boycott first started not many people would join and help her but when a lot of African Americans started to join many white people decided to join because they knew that this law was very racist toward African American. As the Bus Boycott was in full effect the police had arrested Rosa for violating laws.
When the news was spread that Rosa was arrested many people went to the police station and started saying that Rosa was only trying to help and that this was very racist because she never violated any law. After the police would threaten people that if they didn’t leave they would get arrested, finally people had decided that they would also do something about the fact they were putting a woman behind bars just because she was trying to make a positive change. Everyone had decided that they would stop taking the bus so that Rosa would be put on bail. Finally, when the U.S supreme court had heard about what Rosa did they were shocked by what the police had done and had decided that it was time to change the law so it fair to everyone. This law had included that all black people were now allowed to sit wherever they wanted, anyone could apply for driver positions and that the bus driver was to respect all bus riders. This law was changed because of Rosa Parks and her mission to make everyone equal.
Because of Rosa Park’s Bus Boycott, many peoples live’s changed in a good way. Rosa Parks has shown that she is a global citizen because she made all races equal and treated fairly because of her protests, because of her Bus Boycott many people were now able to get a job, have a better lifestyle and, could do whatever they wanted. Rosa Parks was not only a global citizen but a role model to Viola Desmond who was then known as the Canadian Rosa Parks.
