Rosa Parks Day 2023: History, Significance, Celebration, Federal Holiday, and All You Need to Know

Rosa Parks Day is celebrated in honor of the American Civil Rights Rosa Parks. It is observed twice a year, one on the 1st of December and the other on the 4th of February. In the U.S., it is celebrated as a national holiday. For those who don’t know, let’s first dive into the journey of the Civil Rights Hero, Rosa Parks. 

Rosa Parks Day History

In 1955, on 1st December, Posa Parks boarded a bus in her hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, after a long hectic work day. She sat in the ‘colored’ section as she took the Cleveland Avenue bus home. Soon the bus started getting full. As per the Montgomery city ordinance, bus drivers can assign passengers seats. But it doesn’t allow them to demand the passenger leave their seats.

Despite this, bus drivers asked black commuters to leave their seats and give them to white passengers at times when public transportation gets full. Rosa refused to give her seat to a white passenger and ended up getting arrested. On 5th December she was found guilty of violating the city ordinance by the court and ordered to pay her fine of $10 plus a court fee. This all leads to a long battle for civil rights for black people. 

To highlight the incident, African-American activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and E.D. Nixon conducted the Montgomery Bus Boycott trial on Rosa Parks. The boycott was a success and lasted for months, degrading the town’s transportation system. 

The boycott of public transportation lasted for almost 381 days. Later, the Supreme Court rules that segregation doesn’t suit the constitution. The whole incident, along with national outrage, triggered leading to many civil rights protests in the coming years.

Parks also became the face of the fight against inequality in the black community. The famous bus whose driver asked rose to leave has now been restored and is on display at the Henry Ford Museum.

Rosa Parks Day was recognized by the Michigan State Legislature. It was first observed in 1988. Its first holiday was made in Ohio state and championed by Joyce Beatty, an advocate behind the passing of legislation for the Parks. In 2014, Governor of Missouri Jay Nixon officially announced Rosa Parks Day in his state.

Rosa Parks Day- A Federal Holiday

In the same year, Governor of Oregon John Kitzhaber also declared that his state will also be observing the day. In 2021, the Texas Legislature passed HB 3481 meaning they will also be observing December 1st as Rosa Parks Day. On 3rd September of the same year, HR 5111 also proposed to add this day to the list of federal holidays.