One of the most prominent African American women in history, Rosa Parks is regarded as the person who sparked the twentieth century Civil Rights Movement in the United States—although Parks herself downplayed her role. Her refusal to stand up and allow a white man to have her bus seat, however, gave Ms. Parks a permanent place in history. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, as a city bus filled with passengers, a white bus driver told Parks to stand and give her seat to a white man. She was already seated in the "Negro" section located at the back of the bus and refused to relinquish her seat. The bus driver responded by calling the police who arrested Parks and took her to jail. The act changed the lives of African Americans, especially in the old Confederacy, and changed American history forever.

Rosa Lee...