Rosa Parks quotes

Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger became a powerful symbol of resistance to racial segregation. She is remembered as “the mother of the civil rights movement” for her courage and lasting impact. Here are 55 of her quotes:

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 would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free... so other people would be also free. View quote
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. View quote
Rosa Parks
Each person must live their life as a model for others. View quote
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 anything such as complete happiness. 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. View quote
Rosa Parks
Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others. View quote
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. View quote
Rosa Parks
I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people. View quote
Rosa Parks
I did not get on the bus to get arrested. I got on the bus to go home. View quote
Rosa Parks
Since I have always been a strong believer in God, I knew that He was with me, and only He could get me through that next step. View quote
Rosa Parks
I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be deprived of a seat that I had paid for. It was just time... there was opportunity for me to take a stand to express the way I felt about being treated in that manner. I had not planned to get arrested. I had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became. (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. View quote
Rosa Parks
Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way. View quote
Rosa Parks
The only tired I was, was tired of giving in. View quote
Rosa Parks
We didn't have any civil rights. It was just a matter of survival, of existing from one day to the next. I remember going to sleep as a girl hearing the Klan ride at night and hearing a lynching and being afraid the house would burn down. View quote
Rosa Parks
I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom. View quote
Rosa Parks
You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. View quote
Rosa Parks
From my upbringing and the Bible I learned people should stand up for rights just as the children of Israel stood up to the Pharaoh. View quote
Rosa Parks
My only concern was to get home after a hard day's work. View quote
Rosa Parks
Every day before supper and before we went to services on Sundays my grandmother would read the Bible to me, and my grandfather would pray. We even had devotions before going to pick cotton in the fields. Prayer and the Bible, became a part of my everyday thoughts and beliefs. I learned to put my trust in God and to seek Him as my strength. View quote
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)
It was not pre-arranged. It just happened that the driver made and demand and I just didn't feel like obeying his demand . . . I was quite tired after spending a full day working. View quote
Rosa Parks
Arrest me for sitting on a bus? You may do that. View quote
Rosa Parks
God has always given me the strength to say what is right... I had the strength of God and my ancestors with me. View quote
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. View quote
Rosa Parks