October 2 2022

52 Rosa Parks Quotes From The Bus Seat To Civil Rights

Yiannis Kalliantas Quotes activists, democracy and civil rights, human rights, quotes by a single personality, racism

Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who became the catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. On December 1, 1955, Mrs. Parks boarded a bus after clocking out of her job as a seamstress. Although she’d sat in the area designated as “colored”, she and a few other African Americans were asked to move to make room for some whites who had boarded the bus. She refused to move and was arrested for civil disobedience. As a result of this incident, on the day of her trial, December 5, 1955, people were asked to boycott the bus. The boycott lasted 381 days and forced the Supreme court to rule for the desegregation of public buses.

As a major contributor to the civil rights movement spanning 1954 thru 1968, her words have inspired millions. Here are a few of her quotes to note and share.

Best Rosa Parks Quotes

Short and Powerful Rosa Parks Quotes
Famous Quotes by Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks Inspirational Quotes To Make You Fight For Freedom

Civil Rights Quotes Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks Quotes On Imagbes

Best Rosa Parks Quotes

To this day I believe we are here on earth to live, grow, and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom. Rosa Parks
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. Rosa Parks

I was a person with dignity and self-respect, and I should not set my sights lower than anybody else just because I was black. Rosa Parks
Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way. Rosa Parks
It was not pre-arranged. It just happened that the driver made a demand and I just didn’t feel like obeying his demand. I was quite tired after spending a full day working. Rosa Parks
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… No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in. Rosa Parks

I had decided that I would not go anywhere with a piece of paper in my hand asking white folks for any favors. I had made that decision myself, as an individual. Rosa Parks
At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in. Rosa Parks
What I learned best at Miss White’s school was that I was a person with dignity and self-respect, and I should not set my sights lower than anybody else just because I was black.  Rosa Parks
I do the very best I can to look upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I don’t think there is any such thing as complete happiness. Rosa Parks

Short and Powerful Rosa Parks Quotes

I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free … so other people would be also free. Rosa Parks
Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today’s mighty oak is yesterday’s nut that held its ground. Rosa Parks
One thing that I hope never changes: that young people continue to seek answers to their questions. Rosa Parks
Each person must live their life as a model for others. Rosa Parks

Love, not fear, must be our guide. Rosa Parks
People need to free their minds of racial prejudice and believe in equality for all and freedom regardless of race. Rosa Parks
I’m tired of being treated like a second-class citizen. Rosa Parks
You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. Rosa Parks

It is better to teach or live equality and love … than to have hatred and prejudice. Rosa Parks
Arrest me for sitting on a bus? You may do that. Rosa Parks
It was just a matter of survival – like getting off the road we could exist form day to day. Rosa Parks
I was just trying to let them know how I felt about being treated as a human being. Rosa Parks

From the time I was a child, I tried to protest against disrespectful treatment. Rosa Parks
Have you ever been hurt and the place tries to heal a bit, and you just pull the scar off of it over and over again. Rosa Parks
My only concern was to get home after a hard day’s work. Rosa Parks
I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move. Rosa Parks
All I was doing was trying to get home from work. Rosa Parks

Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it. Rosa Parks
I am 83 years old, and I have come to realize that there is always more in life to learn. Rosa Parks
Why do you all push us around? Rosa Parks

Famous Quotes by Rosa Parks

I think the American Dream should be to have a good life, and to live well, and to be a good citizen. I think that should apply to all of us. Rosa Parks
We had a saying that we worked from “can” to “can’t”, which means working from when you can see (sunup) to when you can’t (sundown). Rosa Parks

That was a difference between black slaves and white indentured servants. Black slaves were usually not allowed to keep their names, but were given new names by their owners. Rosa Parks
I had given up my seat before, but this day, I was especially tired. Tired from my work as a seamstress, and tired from the ache in my heart. Rosa Parks
As far back as I can remember I knew there was something wrong with our way of life when people could be mistreated because of the color of their skin. Rosa Parks
Differences of race, nationality or religion should not be used to deny any human being citizenship rights or privileges. Rosa Parks
There is just so much hurt, disappointment, and oppression one can take… The line between reason and madness grows thinner. Rosa Parks

One of my greatest pleasures there was enjoying the smell of bacon frying and coffee brewing and knowing that white folks were doing the preparing instead of me … I was 42 years old, and it was one of the few times in my life up to that point when I did not feel any hostility from white people. Rosa Parks
The overseer beat him, tried to starve him, wouldn’t let him have any shoes, treated him so badly that he had a very intense, passionate hatred for white people. My grandfather was the one who instilled in my mother and her sisters, and in their children, that you don’t put up with bad treatment from anybody. It was passed down almost in our genes. Rosa Parks
It pains me that there is still a lot of Klan activity and racism. I think when you say you’re happy, you have everything that you need and everything that you want, and nothing more to wish for. I haven’t reached that stage yet. Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks Inspirational Quotes To Make You Fight For Freedom

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. Rosa Parks
If I have to face something, I do so no matter what. I have never had any desire to give up. I did not feel that giving up would be a way to become a free person. Rosa Parks

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. Rosa Parks
It is easy for others to say we have come a long way, but our journey is not over. We should not let fear overcome us. Rosa Parks
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. Rosa Parks
I learned to put my trust in God and to see Him as my strength. Long ago I set my mind to be a free person and not to give in to fear. I always felt that it was my right to defend myself if I could. Rosa Parks
We must have courage — determination — to go on with the task of becoming free — not only for ourselves, but for the nation and the world — cooperate with each other. Have faith in God and ourselves. Rosa Parks

Civil Rights Quotes Rosa Parks

Our freedom is threatened every time one of our young people is killed by another child… every time a person gets stopped and beaten by the police because of the color of their skin. Rosa Parks
During the Montgomery bus boycott, we came together and remained unified for 381 days. It has never been done again. The Montgomery boycott became the model for human rights throughout the world. Rosa Parks
Integrating that bus wouldn’t mean more equality. Even when there was segregation, there was plenty of integration in the South, but it was for the benefit and convenience of the white person, not us. So it is not just the integration. Rosa Parks
I’d see the bus pass every day. But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a Black world and a white world. Rosa Parks
At the time I didn’t realize why there was so much Klan activity, but later I learned that it was because African-American soldiers were returning from World War II acting as if they deserved equal rights because they had served their country. Rosa Parks