On This Day in History

This Day in History: Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks Born in 1913

Clay Cane
February 4, 2025

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On February 4, 1913, civil rights icon Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Her defining moment came on December 1, 1955, when she refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. Arrested for her defiance, Parks’ quiet resistance ignited a yearlong bus boycott— which was a year in the making— that became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, ultimately challenging segregation nationwide.

In this Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001, file photo, civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks holds the hand of a well-wisher at a ceremony honoring the 46th anniversary of her arrest for civil disobedience, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. Parks’ archive of letters, writings, personal notes and photographs has been fully digitized by the Library of Congress and is now available online. The library announced Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, that the collection of about 10,000 items belonging to Parks is available to the public. (AP Photo/Paul Warner, File)

Parks, who passed away in October 2005, dedicated her life to justice and equality. She received 43 honorary doctorates and numerous accolades, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, recognizing her enduring impact on the fight for racial justice.

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Clay Cane is an award-winning journalist, writer, radio host, and political commentator. A graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in African-American Studies, his work on race, culture, and politics have appeared in national publications, including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Grio. Clay is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. Twitter: @claycane