Rosa Parks Day

Rosa Parks Day is an American observance to honor civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who was known for refusing to give up her seat on a bus.

Is Rosa Parks Day a Public Holiday?

This is not a public holiday. Government and public offices, businesses, and schools are not closed on this day but may hold special events and outreach programs to commemorate the annual observance.

It is observed in California and Missouri on February 4 and Alabama and Ohio on December 1.

Celebrate Rosa Parks Day

Rosa Parks Day promotes equal opportunities, civil rights, and fairness across communities in the U.S. Church leaders, politicians, and organizational leaders unite in states like California and Ohio to promote the day with a range of events and activities.

Many schools have classroom activities that focus on Rosa Parks’ struggles for equality and achievements against discrimination.

Public Life

Rosa Parks Day is an observance and not a public holiday in the U.S.

About Rosa Parks

On December 1, 1955, African American seamstress Rosa Parks was travelling in a Montgomery City bus when the bus driver asked her to vacate her seat for a white man. The driver’s request was standard practice of racial segregation in buses at the time. Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat on the grounds of fairness, freedom and equality. As a result, she was arrested and convicted of violating the laws of segregation, known as the “Jim Crow” laws. She appealed her conviction and formally challenged the legality of segregation. At the same time, civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King Jr, boycotted the Montgomery bus system.

The boycott lasted for 381 days, into December 1956, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses should be integrated. This boycott kick-started other civil rights protests throughout the U.S. Over the years, the Rosa Parks bus has become a symbol of the fight for equal rights. It has been fully restored and is now displayed in the Henry Ford Museum. Rosa Parks’ Day, on February 4, is also known as the Day of Courage.