Rosa Parks – The First Lady of Civil Rights Is Celebrated Today

Rosa Parks, the first lady of Civil Rights is honored and celebrated Thursday with Rosa Parks Day. Observances for the activist who fought on behalf of African-American civil rights are on both December 1st and on her birthday, February 4th.

TheStreet’s Special Report: Black History, Wall Street & Beyond is taking a look at leaders from yesterday, today, and tomorrow. During the month-long series, we’ll also remember historical milestones and TheStreet’s Tony Owusu speaks with CEOs running minority-owned private equity firms to better understand How to Break Diversity Barriers on Wall Street. Plus, TheStreet’s Anuz Thapa has a series of interviews focusing on the next generation of leaders on and off Wall Street. 

This Day In History – February 4, 1913

On this day in 1913, Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.

She is perhaps best known for her role in the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott.

On December 1, 1955, after a long day of work as a seamstress, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She took her seat in the ‘colored’ section and was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a white person.

Her action would gain her notoriety leading to the Montgomery bus boycott. The event was critical in the civil rights movement.

Parks was born February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, and died October 24, 2005, in Detroit Michigan.

More Video From TheStreet’s Special Report: Black History, Wall Street & Beyond:

TheStreet is taking this month to amplify voices from the African-American community that sometimes fall through the cracks. Here are more videos from TheStreet’s Tony Owusu and Anuz Thapa: