CENTRO DE IDIOMAS

First Lady of Civil Rights

1- Look at the photos and read the title. What can you predict the text is about?

Rosa Parks was an African American. She was

born on 4th of February 1913 in Tuskegee,
Alabama. On Thursday, 1st December 1955,
she did a very courageous thing and it
changed the lives of millions of African
Americans in the United States forever.

On that day, at around six o-clock in the

evening. Rosa got on a bus in Montgomery to
go home from work. She didn’t sit in the first
four rows of the bus because they were for
white people only, so she sat in the fifth row.

Very soon, the bus was completely full. Then a white man got
on. He didn’t want to stand up, he wanted to sit down, so the
bus driver told the four people in the fifth row to get up.
Three people got up, but Rosa Parks didn’t get up. She said
no.

Some people said later that Rosa didn’t get up because she
was tired after her day’s work and because she was old. It’s
true she was tired, but that wasn’t the reason. She wasn’t
physically tired, but she was tired of stupid rules, so she said
no – and she didn’t get up.

2- Do you know or can you guess what happened next? Discuss with your partner.

3- Are the sentences below True or False?

Grammar Focus

Practice

Complete the sentences with the correct past simple form of the verbs in brackets so they are true for you. Then
compare with a partner.

Study these linking words:

So: It And: It But: It Because:

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results ideas contrast reasons.14
Now read the rest of the story of Rosa Parks.

Whilst the other black passengers obeyed, Rosa did not. The result?
Rosa was arrested by the police and fined for breaking segregation
laws! But Rosa refused to pay, and argued that it was the law that
was wrong, not her behavior.
On news of Rosa’s arrest, the black citizens of Montgomery came
together and agreed to boycott the city’s buses in protest. This meant
that from 5 December 1955 (the date of Rosa’s trial), African
Americans refused to travel on buses. The boycott was managed by an
organization called the Montgomery Improvement Association, for
which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was elected as leader.
The protest proved super effective, with more black people participating than had been expected. And since
African Americans made up around 70% of bus users, the city’s transport services made far less money and began
to struggle. But it wasn’t an easy protest for the black citizens. Many of them didn’t own cars, and so they had to
carpool together or walk long distances to get where they needed to go. What’s more, the boycott was received
with anger by members of the white population, who responded with aggressive and dangerous acts of violence.
Nevertheless, the protesters stuck together and fought for their cause – and on 13 November 1956 their efforts
were finally rewarded. After 381 days of boycotting the buses, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama’s racial
segregation laws were ‘unconstitutional’ – meaning they weren’t valid and should not be recognized. In light of
such a wonderful victory, Rosa became known as “the mother of the civil rights movement”.
Sadly, despite the victory, life wasn’t easy for Rosa and her fellow activists after the boycott. Faced with continued
violence and threats by angry white groups, Rosa and Raymond moved to Detroit (a city in the northern US state
of Michigan), to live with Rosa’s brother.
There she continued to promote civil rights and help those suffering from discrimination and injustice. She
continued to support the NAACP and many civil rights events, and in 1987 she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond
Parks Institute for Self Development to provide career training for young people in Detroit. Rosa received
numerous awards for her strength, courage and her incredible work for civil rights – including the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 1996 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.
Rosa died of natural causes on 24 October 2005 at the age of 92. But she continues to be recognized all over the
world as a symbol of freedom and equality. Today, commemorative statues stand (or ‘sit’ we should say!) in her
honor, to remind us of her remarkable achievements that should never be forgotten.

Based on the story of Rosa Parks, prepare an interview and practice the past simple form.