Rosa Parks Quotes About Courage, Justice And Resistance

Today marks the 113th birthday of the fearless and courageous Rosa Parks. Born on Feb. 4, 1913 (she died Oct. 24, 2005), Parks is honored each year for her pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. Across the United States, many public transportation systems commemorate her legacy through Transit Equity Day, sometimes offering free rides or symbolically reserving seats on buses and trains in recognition of her historic refusal to surrender her seat in 1955.

Rosa Parks’ Birthday: Celebrating A Fearless Activist

What is often overlooked is that Rosa Parks was already a seasoned activist long before that defining moment. Deeply involved in grassroots organizing, she had supported 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who months earlier had also refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus.

According to NewsOne, Rosa Parks, born Rosa Louise McCauley, grew up in Tuskegee, Ala. She attended an industrial school for girls and later enrolled at Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes (now Alabama State University), leaving school to care for her ill grandmother. But growing up in the Jim Crow South wasn’t easy. She faced racism and violence firsthand.

The challenging environment would inspire her to take part in community activism early.  At just 19 years old, Parks married Raymond Parks, a barber and dedicated activist. Together, they worked alongside numerous social justice organizations, and Rosa eventually became secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. By the time she boarded the bus in December 1955, she was not simply a quiet protester, but a respected strategist and leader within Alabama’s Civil Rights Movement. Her arrest helped ignite the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a landmark campaign that reshaped the fight for racial justice and put an end to segregation on public transportation in the city. 

Reflecting on that courageous feat, Parks previously said, “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was 42. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in. I felt that if I did stand up, it meant that I approved of the way I was being treated, and I did not approve.”

Rosa Parks spoke with wisdom, conviction and fearlessness whenever she addressed the power of resisting inequality and injustice, words that continue to inspire many today. As we celebrate Rosa Parks’ birthday, here are 10 quotes from the Civil Rights icon that will inspire anyone to take the lead, resist and make change today. 

1. “Let us look at Jim Crow for the criminal he is …”

2. “Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today’s mighty oak is yesterday’s nut that held its ground.”

3. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

4. “Each person must live their life as a model for others.”

5. “There were times when it would have been easy to fall apart or to go in the opposite direction, but somehow I felt that if I took one more step, someone would come along to join me.”

RELATED CONTENT: For Colored Girls ‘Tired Of Giving In’—12 Songs By Black Women That Embody Rosa Parks’ Fearless Spirit

Continue reading our favorite Rosa Parks quotes below.

6. “I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.”

7. “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”

8. “I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.”

9. “Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.”

10. “Differences of race, nationality or religion should not be used to deny any human being citizenship rights or privileges. Life is to be lived to its fullest so that death is just another chapter. Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.”

RELATED CONTENT: Claudette Colvin, Unsung Civil Rights Pioneer, Passes Away At 86