What Went Down?
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, after she refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. At that time, segregation laws, known as “Jim Crow” laws, dictated that Black passengers sit at the back of the bus, while seats in the front were reserved for white passengers. When the bus filled up, Parks was ordered to give up her seat to allow a white passenger to sit. Parks, a dedicated civil rights activist, refused, and this act of defiance led to her arrest and the infamous mugshot taken at the police station.
Parks’ arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a landmark protest that galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and highlighted the fight against racial injustice in the United States. The boycott, led by Martin Luther King Jr. and supported by countless African Americans in Montgomery, lasted over a year, drawing national attention to the struggle for equality and challenging systemic racism. Rosa Parks’ mugshot, captured during her arrest, has since become an enduring symbol of courage and the quest for social justice.
