On this date in history: December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (KUSA-TV) – In 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus.

Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.

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To commemorate the incident, the City of Montgomery is unveiling a new statue of the civil rights pioneer.

The statue will be unveiled on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Montgomery Plaza at the Court Street Fountain, 64 years to the day of Parks’ arrest.

In addition to the Parks statue, there will also be four granite markers to honor the plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle - the landmark case that ruled segregation on Montgomery buses unconstitutional.

The civil rights memorials are a partnership among the city and county, the Alabama tourism department and the Montgomery Area Business Committee for the Arts.


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