December 1, 1955, Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks refused to move

Every body that was part of Civil Rights movement is important. But, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Lee Parks refused to relinquish her seat to a white passenger on a racially segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus. By this simple act, which today would seem unremarkable, she set in motion the civil rights movement, which led to Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ultimately ensured that today all African American must be given equal treatment with whites under the law. Parks did not know that she was making history nor did she intend to do so. She simply knew that she was tired after a long day's work and did not want to move. Because of her fatigue and because she was so determined, America was changed forever. She is the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.

When Rosa Park refused to give up her seat on the bus, she was fined and arrested, because that was the law of segregation at that time.

President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Martin Luth...

Martin Luther King leaning on a lectern. Deutsch: ...

English: Dr. Martin Luther King giving his "I Have...

But her arrest has sparked a fury and members of the black community decided that a boycott of the bus system was overdue. Jo Ann Robinson of the Women's Political Committee began to organize a one day protest. When the word spread about the protest several other black leaders wanted to convene. Under the leadership of E.D. Nixon, former chair of the NAACP of Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, H.H. Hubbard, and Ms. A.W. West an organized movement was underway. A meeting was held the day after Rosa Parks arrest and many Montgomery activists attended the session.

To efficiently carry out the bus boycott, the Montgomery Improvement Association or MIA was formed with Martin Luther King Jr., as their leader. Montgomery bus boycott started on December 5, 1955 the same day Rosa Park was...