Rosa Parks

In honor of Black History Month, every school day The Cardinal will feature a prominent and/or historical Black American, living or dead, who has worked toward change, advancement, and/or world peace. Some of them are heroes, and some are unsung heroes, who deserve recognition, and have made contributions to make society a better place.

Yamileth Hernandez, Staff Writer

February 21, 2024

Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 and was an American activist in the civil rights movement. She was mainly known for her part in the Montgomery bus boycott.

Parks refused to give up her seat for white people and move to the ¨colored¨ section of the bus. This moment became very important in history, and the NAACP believed that she was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her arrest for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws, and she helped inspire the Black community to boycott the Montgomery buses for over a year. The case became bogged down in the state courts, but the federal Montgomery bus lawsuit Browder v. Gayle resulted in a November 1956 decision that bus segregation is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Parks became an icon for the resistance of racial segregation. She collaborated with other civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. to create a better world for African Americans. She was active in the Black Power movement. After her retirement, she wrote her autobiography and continued to express how she felt there was still so much more work to be done. Parks received many awards and recognitions for her hard work and is seen as a social activist icon to this day.

Parks received national recognition, including the NAACP’s 1979 Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol’s National Statuary Hall. Upon her death in 2005, she was the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. California and Missouri commemorate Rosa Parks Day on her birthday, February 4, while Ohio, Oregon, and Texas commemorate the anniversary of her arrest, December 1.

About the Contributor

Yamileth Hernandez, Staff Writer

Yamileth Hernandez is a 17 year old Mexican-American that attends Hoover High School. Yamileth is graduating this year and is very indecisive about what her future could possibly look like, Yamileth's favorite thing to do is listen to music, and she uses music as a form of relaxation. Her role models would be all three of her older sisters because they have accomplished so much and she hopes to do the same. As of right now she doesnt know exactly what her career could be but she hopes to explore the medical field. Yamileth is very true to her Mexican side, because all of her favorite foods are Mexican dishes and can not decide which one is her favorite. What she would do to try to change the world would be to bring a positive and free environment where everyone is equal and appreciated. She believes it can feel unattainable but she also believes in our community and sees it as a goal that has to be met with the help of everyone else. What she believes society needs to do is be open to new things. Society tries to shut out a lot of people and ideas. She thinks a lot would be solved and it would make the world a beautiful place.