 Well, hello from the National Archives Public Programs and Education team. My name is Missy McNatt, and I'm an Education Specialist in Washington, D.C. And welcome to the National Archives Comes Alive Young Learners Program. You can learn more about our programs on the National Archives website, archives.gov, your attendant event, and on the National Archives Facebook page. This morning we meet Rosa Parks, portrayed by Marty Goble, actor, director, and educator. Rosa Parks is recognized as the mother of the modern civil rights movement in the United States, and she propelled the movement forward when she refused to give her seat up on a bus to a white man on December 5, 1955. In the holdings of the National Archives are numerous records related to Rosa Parks. On this next slide, we see the fingerprint card from Rosa Parks when she was arrested. And on the next slide is a photograph of Rosa Parks when she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999. And both of these documents can be found in docsteach.org. And the activity, the featured activity for today's program is based on a diagram of the bus showing where Rosa Parks sat. And it is part of a federal district court case record. And we will share this slide again at the end of the program. At the end of Rosa Parks' presentation, we will have a question and answer session with her. So please write your questions in the YouTube chat box. We have a National Archives staff member who is monitoring it. And let us know where you're watching from this morning. This program is brought to you by the National Archives Public Programs and Education team and the National Archives Foundation. And now it is my great pleasure to introduce to you the First Lady of Civil Rights, Rosa Parks. Thank you for joining me here today at Mount Zion AME Church. I was asked to come and speak to you members of the community and share a bit about the events of last night, December 5, 1955. My name, as you have just heard, is Rosa Louise McCulley Parks. Last night, I was arrested for peacefully protesting the segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama. For simply refusing to give up my seat to a white passenger on the bus, I was arrested. I went to the police station, booked for breaking the law and became inmate number 7053. All last night, as I waited in my jail cell, I reflected on yesterday's events, wondering how I got here and wondering what caused the fact of my arrest would take me and others who see the unfairness of how we as African Americans have been treated in the United States. For my whole life, I have lived under the Jim Crow laws. These laws are state and local laws that enforce racial segregation in the South. Now other areas in the country are affected as well, but in a much less formal manner than we have here in Alabama. You may be familiar with the term separate but equal. This means that no matter the facility schools, for example, those facilities are supposed to be separate from whites but equal in their function. Our facilities have been consistently inferior and underfunded in comparison to facilities for white Americans. Sometimes there are simply no facilities at all. Jim Crow institutionalized economic, educational and social disadvantages and made African American second class citizens in the very country we helped to build. This was the Alabama I was born into. I thought a great deal about my childhood over the long night. I was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4th, 1913 to my mother, Leona, a teacher, and to my father, James, a carpenter. I grew up on a farm with my maternal grandparents, my mother, and my younger brother, Sylvester. We are all proud members of AME or the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I attended school in rural Alabama until I was 11 years old but before that my mother had taught me a great deal about sowing and I had become a highly skilled quilter while I even made my first quilt all by myself at the age of six. I remember my grandmother telling me what a beautiful job I had done and she also reminded me that though I had the skills and tools to make the quilt alone, how much greater the quilt would have been had many hands contributed to its process. As a student at the Industrial School for Girls I learned much more in my academic classes and vocational courses. I liked school and I did very well until I had to drop out just before finishing high school to care for my mother and then later my grandmother as they became ill. But sitting beside my grandmother, sitting by her bed and listening to her stories I learned a great deal about her life as a slave child. She was born a slave, my grandfather too, and the horrific stories that she shared with me made me realize that even though slavery had ended the conditions of black people had changed very little. You can change the law but it is much more difficult to change hearts. Both my mother and grandmother believed in freedom and equality. It's not what they did necessarily but the way they talked they saw as I did that Alabama was a white supremacist ruled state and every black person's life was affected day to day by the existence of this white supremacy. Why I can even recall going to elementary school watching the white children take the school bus to their new school building while we walked to our broke and dilapidated one room schoolhouse. To me that was a way of life. We had no choice but to accept what was custom. Watching these buses rush by while I walked to school was one of the first ways that I realized there was a black world and there was a white world. And even though I can recount early memories of the kindness of white strangers I could not ignore the racism in my society. One time when the Klu Klux Klan marched down the street in front of my house my grandfather stood on the porch guarding the house with a shotgun. The school I went to Montgomery Industrial School for Girls was burned down twice as far back as I can remember. I remember thinking in terms that let me know it was unfair to accept this kind of mistreatment without some form of resistance. It wouldn't take many years for me to put these thoughts into practice. In 1932 I married my husband Raymond Parks who was a barber and he encouraged me to return to school and get my high school diploma. Now at that time less than 7% of African-Americans even had their high school diploma. Raymond was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Color People or the NAACP which at the time was collecting money to support the fence of the Scotsboro boys a group of black men imprisoned after being falsely accused of hurting white women. You see founded in 1909 the NAACP helped to lead a sustained public protest and legal assault on Jim Crow and the so-called separate but equal doctrine. In 10 years time around 1943 I would become active in the civil rights movement and join the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP where I was elected secretary. In my position I was part of many campaigns launched to ensure equal treatment of African-Americans and enjoyed my work very very much. For those of you who don't know the civil rights movement at its roots is a political movement that began just last year in 1954. This political movement seeks to abolish Jim Crow laws, diminish discrimination if not abolish it all together and also to work towards the disenfranchisement of many peoples disenfranchisement means the removal of the right to vote. Our aim is to accomplish these goals through non-violence and civil disobedience so that we may secure new protections in the federal law for the civil rights of all Americans. This means women too. My husband and I, Raymond, have also been members of the League of Women Voters since the 1940s. In 1944 I took a job at Maxwell Air Force Base which, even though the base was located in Alabama, did not permit racial segregation because it was on federal property. We rode the bus trolley together to our locations on site, black and white. I could hardly imagine such a thing until I saw it with my own eyes. I did not stay at the job for long but you could easily say that my time at Maxwell opened my eyes to what things could be for African-Americans. I went later to work for Clifford and Virginia Der, a politically liberal white couple who became my friends. In fact it was Clifford who posted my bail this morning so that I may be released from jail to await trial and speak with you today. I thank Clifford for his friendship and his work towards equality for all American citizens. Yesterday it had only been four days since I attended a meeting at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church to discuss what actions we would take to protest the murders of Emmett Till and activists George W. Lee and Lamar Smith. I guess you could say I had a lot on my mind when I got on that bus after my work as a seamstress. I had boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus at around six o'clock. I paid my fare and I took my seat in the first row of the back seats directly behind the tin seats reserved for white passengers. As the bus traveled along it began to fill up. I was in the colored section but when the bus reached the third stop several more white passengers boarded soon there were no more seats in the white section of that bus. The bus driver James F. Blake demanded that myself and the three other African Americans give up our seats in the colored section in the middle of the bus. He even went as far as to remove the sign that said colored section and move it further back on the bus. When he waved his hand and ordered us up out of our seats I felt a wave of determination cover my whole body just like one of those quilts I used to make as a girl. The driver said y'all better make yourselves light and give up those seats. The others moved. I did not. I could not. Blake said why don't you stand up. I said I don't think I should have to stand up. Blake said if you don't stand up I'm going to have to call the police. I said you may do that. I was not angry. My feet did not hurt. I did not plan it. I was tired. Not physically tired. Tired of giving in. I was 42 and I had spent my whole life giving in. I was determined to take this opportunity to say I didn't want to be treated this way. I did not plan on getting arrested. I had plenty to do without ending up in jail. But when I had to face the decision to either give up my seat or to stand up for my rights I did not hesitate to do so. Because I felt we as Americans had endured too much for too long. For African Americans, the more we gave in, the more we complied with this kind of treatment, it made our plight in life worse. And I was bothered that we as people had taken so long to make this type of protest. When the policeman came to arrest me, I asked him, why do you push us around? I remember him saying, I don't know, but the law is the law and you are under arrest. I knew that it was the last time that I would ever ride in humiliation of this kind. Last night I was charged with the violation of chapter 6, section 11, segregation law of the Montgomery City Code. But I had not been the first. There was Bayard Rustin in 1942. Irene Morgan in 1946. Lily May Bradford in 1951. And Sarah Louise Keyes in 1952. But for some reason the time was right for the African American citizens of Montgomery to rally together and protest together as one. Joanne Robinson in Alabama State College professor state of all night mimeographing over 35,000 handbills announcing the bus boycott. They have not been handed out yet, but I have one here. It says, we are asking every Negro to stay off the buses on Monday in protest of the arrest and upcoming trial. You can afford to stay out of school for one day. If you work, take a cab or walk. But please, children and grownups, don't ride the bus at all on Monday and until our issues are resolved. In just a little under 24 hours, we had begun what we have decided to call the Montgomery bus boycott. I am told that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King is to join us in a few days. I have met him before when he came to an NAAC meeting. As a guest speaker, I was secretary. I was impressed not only with his leadership, but the delivery of his message that evening. His attitude to help the community through the church just might be what we need as African Americans to make and see some long lasting change. Word has gotten to me from Dr. King. He thanked me for my strength and asked me to make sure that I know that I will forever play an important role in raising international awareness to the plight of the African American in the United States. Dr. King said, no one can truly ever understand what Ms. Parks did, unless we realize that eventually the cup of endurance will run over and the human person cries out, saying I can take it no longer today. The day after my arrest marks the beginning of change. I can feel it just as surely as I can feel the unfairness visited on the African Americans of this country. I am told that leaders of the African American community consider me an ideal plaintiff for a test case to battle the city and the state segregation laws because of my calm demeanor and excellent reputation. I have no idea how this trial is going to resolve itself, but I do know this. If the African American citizens of Montgomery, Alabama can peacefully protest the Montgomery bus system by not riding the bus for a sustained amount of time, we can send a message loud and clear that we will no longer sit quietly by while we are abused and mistreated. Oh, I have so many hopes and dreams for myself and my people. I hope to see the desegregation of schools in my lifetime. Black children and white children deserve the same quality of education and by not teaching African American children the same skills as white children, we as a nation are creating generations of citizens that are not capable of contributing to a democratic society in a positive way. I hope one day to look at the failing welfare system, job discrimination and fair housing. I dream one day of having a platform that will allow me to visit schools, hospitals, senior citizen facilities and other community meetings to discuss social concerns and activism. I dream one day of meeting a president of the United States and for that president to recognize me as a member of our shared community who has only ever sought to have the same rights and privileges as her white neighbors. I am tired in my body and in my soul. I have had a sleepless night thinking about all of the events that brought me here to speak to you today. Yes, I thought of my rest yesterday evening due to my civil disobedience, but I also thought of my childhood, my marriage, my career, the friends I have made. And I have concluded that if anyone feels as though they have the right idea about how to correct a wrong, they should stay with it. And remember, sometimes the power you have is dependent on the people around you. As individuals, I believe it is our duty to rid ourselves of any prejudice inside us and to always be concerned with what you can do to help others. Today, in this December, in the year of 1955, I find that our world is far from perfect. Maybe it never will be perfect. But just like the quilts that I used to make as a child were put together piece by piece with many hands, I pray that my actions on that bus last night will encourage others in joining me in the making of the quilt that can offer all American citizens the warmth of freedom, equality, and justice for all. Before we end this evening, I would like to give a special thanks to the Women's Political Council, who have been the first organized group to endorse the boycott. We thank them so much. I would like to encourage everyone to attend and get information about the Highlander Folk School where I was trained in social justice and activism. Following this short question and answer period, I invite you to join us in the Fellowship Hall for cookies and coffee. My name is Rosa Louise McCulloch-Parks, and yesterday the seeds of change were planted. Thank you. Well, thank you, Mrs. Parks, that just learned so much from how you explain things happened. And actually, a question. You mentioned a number of people who also through the years had been arrested for civil disobedience. Did their cases not go to trial? Do you know what happened with them? And as you mentioned, you were seen as someone who was perfect to take this case to court. But just wondering if you have any information about those other people who also were arrested. They were all charged with the offense of civil disobedience, but they were not used as a test case to push forward our agenda to rid the state of the segregation laws. For multiple reasons, my case seemed to be perfect, my involvement with the NAACP, my marriage to Raymond, and also my involvement with the church and my calm demeanor. I did not know any of those previous individuals, but I gather it would be very difficult in this type of situation to keep calm, which is my natural personality. And then you also mentioned that you joined the NAACP in the 1940s, but your husband had been a member since you were married in the 30s. And was your work with the federal government, was that part of what you saw there and how things could be different? Was that part of your reason for deciding to join the organization? I was based in the people that came through the church involved in the NAACP, but you will recall that at the beginning of my marriage, I was finishing my schooling. And though I continued to work alongside Raymond in an informal way, particularly with the youth of the NAACP, I did not formally join the organization until the 40s, as the secretary is. Okay. And then you've talked about your calm demeanor and your attitude has made such a difference throughout and that it was a strength. And you tell why that calmness and reserve was important in the protest and helping to fight and bring about changes, fight for civil rights and to bring about the changes. And I guess even looking forward, some of the things that you did to make a difference. You know, Dr. King was very clear about his belief that we must respond with determination but nonviolently. And I think that sometimes we forget that our voices can be used as a weapon that is not always good. By withstanding the sea of anger and abuse that came at me, my life was threatened for many years until I moved to Detroit, Michigan. By keeping that calm, I did not feed into this monster of anger and rage. It also allowed me to be not criticized as a woman who was not thinking clearly and was not aware of her path. And I think that sometimes it's nice to have such an element in any fight, the calm and the anger. And you also had mentioned that you had met Dr. King prior to the time that he came to actually work with the movement to protest the segregation in the buses and the transportation system. Did you continue to work with him through the years? I did continue to work with him through the years. He was a very, he is a very busy man. And at the time of my arrest, he wasn't even able to get to the church for several days, and then joined the process to continue the Montgomery bus boycott. I did meet with him several times after this arrest, and we stayed friends for many, many years until his death, for many years until his death. And then also just sometimes there's misinformation about your role in the bus boycott that's taught in schools and anything that you are aware of that you have heard that people have said about what happened, that you would want to clarify for us. The rumor has it that I was asked to remove myself from a front seat of the bus. This is not true. I was in the middle section. There were plenty of seats in the white section in front of me. And I actually did slide over to the window seat when I was asked to move by bus driver Blake. It was not until he asked me to give up my seat entirely that the problems arose. I did not plan this. I think many people that the rumor mill can be a quite a thing. And I think that there was some echoes in the street that this would have been a planned protest. It did not. And I was not tired. I just did not want to be treated in this manner. Now I had had some loose training with the Highland Folk School, as I said, where I was trained in social justice and activism. And I suppose you could say that was a loose plan, but I did not get on the bus that day looking to stir up any kind of trouble. And how long did it actually take to make that change? How long did the protest last when the African Americans did not ride the buses before it finally changed? And was that an economic issue when the bus companies finally said, you know, we need to change? Or did that come out of a, I know there was a federal district court case, did it come out of a court case, that change that happened? The change, I think, was twofold. The bus companies were losing a great deal of money. We as African Americans did not ride the bus for almost an entire year. Buses were sitting on the side of the roads. You could see some people on the buses, but very few. And one thing that must be mentioned, the boycott also involved liberal whites. They also did not choose to ride the bus during that time. So the laws were changed. We caused damage, financial damage to the bus companies over that just under a year time period. But also there were several court cases that were in play at the time to change the laws. But you know, Missy, as I said, just because you change the laws does not mean you change the hearts of people. And we still struggled for many years with the civil rights movement until we saw any real change. Okay. So here's, we are very, a class they're watching, so we are very diverse semi remote school in Marvel City, Oklahoma, and sixth and seventh grade study, class, social studies have the pleasure of being here today. So thank you. Thank you for watching. And then some from some students, we want to know if you see yourself as a hero as we do. And my students would like to know if you had children or were you and were you an only child? So I guess there are three questions in there. First one, do you see yourself as a hero? I do not. I just see myself as a woman who knows what she deserves in this life and how she must be treated as an American citizen and a world citizen. I am the oldest of two children. My younger brother is Sylvester and I have no children. You never had children. So do you think that if you had children that would have made a difference in your decision about some of the things that you did, would you have worried about the impact on them? You said your life was threatened for years. Many years. My life was threatened. I do think that that would have added a bit more caution on our mission. Definitely. Yeah. And I lost many jobs because of this. My husband continued to work at the base and they had to fire him because of the press that my arrest generated. So we not only had our lives threatened but our financial situation was often precarious and not a good environment for children. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And did you have friends who weren't African Americans? So that's the first question. There are several questions in here. So we'll ask that one first. The doze and I had experienced kindness many times. Clifford Doze is one of my dearest friends. I worked as a housekeeper in his house and we became friends that way and he's actually the one that bailed me out of jail last night. But I had many friends. I think this is also a bit of misinformation that the civil rights movement was primarily run and participated in by African Americans. It was for African Americans but many of our white neighbors supported us either through speaking, financial donations, pamphlets and distributing things like that and indeed joining us in the in the Montgomery boycott. Yes. And then do you believe racism will ever end? It is my serious hope that it will. I think we all feel that way. And then this just one was a comment from myself and this is from Bobby Will. Thank you for what you do, Ms. Goh. Well, thank you. Thank you. Yes. And let's see. We would like to know, here's another question, your thoughts on the Tulsa race riots? My thoughts on the Tulsa race riots. When any riot occurs, it is an aftershock to a situation, not the cause of the situation. So when a riot happens, we must remember that though things get damaged and people get harmed, it is a collective response to conditions that happen prior to that riot. Do I encourage rioting, looting, destruction? No I do not. But I respect the emotions that lead to such a thing. And then of all the youth, were your dreams realized? You know, looking, you're moving forward to towards your end of your life as you look back, did you, were your dreams realized of things that you were talking about as Rosa Parks in 1955 that you wanted to see happen? Did you feel like they actually happened? They did happen. The desegregation of schools did happen in my lifetime. Black children and white children in many situations, there's still work to be done, have been afforded the same educational process and offerings in education that every child deserves to have. I did meet a president and was awarded the Presidential Award by President Clinton. And I did see some movement in the housing projects and the care of senior citizens, particularly for African Americans. I did see many of the, all of the segregation laws formally removed from state record. It did take a little bit of time for marriages and such to be addressed. But eventually we have a place in this country where there's a lot of different opportunity for a lot of people that I did not have when I was growing up. So many changes, you saw them throughout your life. And I think we are getting close to the end and we, the last question that we always ask is, as Rosa Parks, what advice do you have for young people today? Or what advice would Rosa Parks give to young people today in 2022? In my very own words, when you see an opportunity, take it, especially if it can help you help others. That's great advice, absolutely. And helping others. Thank you so very, very much, Ms. Parks. And we wish you a wonderful rest of your day. Thank you, Missy. Thanks. And as I promised, we're going to see that slide again for our featured activity in DocsTeach, docsteach.org. I encourage you to check it out because you can look. We just heard a great deal about that bus and where she sat and what actually happened. So this is a great activity that looks at that diagram. And then tomorrow, we have a very special treat. If you are able to join us when we hear from Nicole Stott and astronauts, so changing times, you know, lots of differences here between our program today and tomorrow. But please join us at one o'clock tomorrow to hear from Nicole Stott. So that's a program tomorrow. You can check on our website, archives.gov, and find that YouTube link. And then finally, for all of us who love Girl Scout cookies, and I have seen those Girl Scouts out there with those cookies. And I was once, won many years ago, loved being a Girl Scout, sold those cookies. But anyway, so our March program is to learn about Juliette Gordon-Lowe who found at the Girl Scouts back in 1912. So if you can join us, please do Thursday, March 12th at 11 a.m. And thank you to everybody who joined us today and have a wonderful rest of your day.