Tanisha Moyer December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama was the day that set the tone for the next 30 years in the United States. Rosa Parks a black woman stood up for herself and all of those who were too afraid. She refused to give up her seat to a white man when asked to move to the back of the bus. From this event the Civil Rights Movement was brought to the forefront of Americas problems. Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama in a world that said blacks were “free and equal”. She grew up with her grandfather. Even back when she was a child the KKK was tormenting blacks. They killed blacks and burned down black churches. She would go to sleep with her clothes on just in case the KKK broke in and they had to run. She grew up to realize that the freedom and equality they were promised never really existed. Rosa had fought for racial equality for more than a decade. She made plans with other activists, organized protests, and gave a moving speech in 1948 that led to her being elected as Secretary of the Alabama conference of the NAACP. She investigated crimes against blacks including sexual violence just as she had done for the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. She was married and lived a normal segregated life for a woman until December 1st. On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks, tired physically and spiritually, was asked to move out of her seat on the bus and move further back for a white passenger. She was tired from working and being treated as inferior because she was black. She was arrested and this lead to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Sparking the beginning of the fight for civil rights and showed that one person’s actions towards unfair treatment could

make a difference. During the 1950’s and 1960’s several different things were going on socially, but the major theme was “separate, but equal” and women’s rights. African Americans were introduced into society as equals to all white men. Brown V. Board of education was a major case that challenged the “separate, but equal” doctrine in public education. Oliver Brown wanted to enroll his 3rd grade daughter in to a white school that was much closer to their home than the one she was told to go to, but was denied just because she was black. Brown then went to the NAACP who brought the case all the way to the Supreme Court. In the final decision, the court ruled that
“separate, but equal” had no place in education. It required desegregation of public schools, but did not change segregation in other public areas such as restaurants and restrooms. Gender roles began to change during this time period. Women began working outside the home. Everyone was in the fight for equal rights and equal pay especially women. People were living psychedelic life styles and many groups began to pop up. Some groups were non­violent in the fight for rights such as NAACP, SCLC, SNCC, and CORE. Others were violent including KKK, Black
Nationalist Movement, and Nation of Islam. Rosa Parks was one individual that stood out amongst the rest when it came to these issues. She made a simple non­violent gesture that led to national recognition of a large social problem. The 1950’s and 1960’s had no huge problems or breakthroughs, but the growth of the
1950’s lead to a peak in the 60’s. Although inflation after World War 2 and the Korean War was one economical issue during this time period. Slow economic growth was the cause for this

inflation. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott contributed to the slowing the economy by causing the bus company to reduce their profits. The Bus Boycott not only affected the bus companies bottom line, but also all the local businesses that potential customers would have ridden the bus to on that day. When a company's growth is stalled by reduction of