Other People Who took A Stand

Who else was involved?

 

When you think of de-segregation does MLK Jrs. name come into mind? Well he wasn’t the only one who helped make history. Here are two other people that also helped change the course of history.    

 

         

Rosa Parks

 

              Rosa Parks was a very important person in history.  Rosa Parks was born on February 14, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her mom was a teacher and her dad was a carpenter.   She helped change our country.

               It all started on December 1, 1955 when Rosa Parks was tired after a day of hard work.  Back then there were two sections on the bus. A white section and a black section. Rosa Parks took a seat in the white section and refused to stand up and give her seat to a white man.  Rosa probably would have given it up to a child or an elderly person, but she was tired of being mistreated by whites so she didn’t give it up.  For that Rosa Parks was sent to jail. But it didn’t stop there.

              After Rosa got released from jail the bus boycott began. The boycott was led by Martin Luther King Junior.  Almost all of the African Americans were walking or car pooling. The bus boycott was only supposed to go on for only a week but it went on for over a year! 

              Finally the busses had to close down because not enough people were using the busses.  The boycott was successful.

              Sadly Rosa Parks passed away this year at age 92.             

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mahatma Gandhi

 


             Gandhi was an Indian man who believed in the same things that Martin Luther King Junior and Rosa Parks believed in, peace and equality.

              Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of India. He taught the people of the world how to be peaceful.

              When Mohandas was a young boy he was very lucky to grow up in a loving Indian family, because most of the people in India were very poor and spun wool for a living.

              Gandhi went to Africa as young lawyer to help the Indians (living in Africa) get their equal rights. That was the first time that Gandhi used his peace plan satyagraha. This plan symbolized Gandhi’s plan of making things happening peacefully. It worked!!

              In Sabarmati Gandhi built an ashram which is a place where families could live and obey their Hindu tradition. People finally began to believe that peaceful resistance could succeed.

             In 1947 satyagraha won!!! Indian was finally a free country. Sadly Gandhi was only able to live a year after India became a free country. Gandhi was killed by a Hindu man who didn’t like the idea of equal treatment of Muslims.

             Just a little under 1 million people came to Gandhi’s funeral and the United Nations lowered all of their flags to half mass in mourning.

             When Gandhi died his only belongings were two pairs of sandals, his glasses and watch, bowls some spoons, and a book of songs.

             Gandhi led a very simple life but a very powerful one too. As strange as it sounds Gandhi’s satyagraha inspired MLK Jrs. Peaceful fight for equal rights in the U.S.A.

 

 

 

Famous Quotes

 

 

 

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.”- Martin Luther King Junior

 

 

 

“Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way. “- Rosa Parks

 

 

 

 

“Action expresses priorities.” - Mohandas Gandhi