History, Profile America, Women

Profile America: Rosa Parks, American Hero

February 4, 2018 1:30 PM·

Rosa Parks, civil rights activist.

Sunday, February 4th. Adding poignancy to Black History Month, today marks the birthday in 1913 of Rosa Parks, a community activist who became a symbol of the fight for civil equality. Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white man. This sparked a boycott of the bus system by black people, which greatly energized the ultimately successful civil rights movement.

During her life, Rosa Parks championed the cause of increased opportunities for youth. When she was arrested in 1955, black children on average had attended about seven years of school. Now, about 85 percent of African-American adults have at least a high school diploma, and some 3.3 million are enrolled in college as graduate or undergraduate students.

You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online here.

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Author: Michael Benjamin is a public affairs consultant and an editorial board member at The New York Post. He is a former contributing columnist to the NY Post, City and State NY and other publications. He is a former Member of the New York State Assembly (2003-2010) and once led the Bronx Board of Elections. Since leaving office, he has appeared as a commentator on TWC NY1, Bronxnet OPEN, Good Day NY, and Al Jazeera America. His columns and blog focus on corruption, government, education, politics, redistricting, nuclear energy and race. He holds a B.A. in political science from Syracuse University.