Aura L. Guir College Prep. June 16, 2010 The biography of Rosa Louise Parks Rosa was born on February 4th, 1913, in Tuskegee Alabama, she was the oldest of the two children her parents had. Rosa was brought up by her parents James and Leonna McCauely, her father was a carpenter and her mother was a teacher. At the age of two Rosa, her younger brother Sylvester and her mother moved to her grandparent’s farm in Pine Level, Alabama. At the age of 11 she was enrolled at the Montgomery Industrial School for girls once graduated, she went on to Alabama State Teacher's College High School.
King attended a segregated public school in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen and received his B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College; a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. In June 1953 Martin married Coretta Scott and had four kids. In 1954 King became the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. During this time Rosa Parks was arrested for failure to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery city bus.
Brown v. Board of Education American parents challenged the system of education in the United States which mandated separate schools for their children based solely on race. In Kansas alone there were eleven school integration cases dating from 1881 to 1949, prior to Brown in 1954. In many instances the schools for African American children were substandard facilities with out-of-date textbooks and often no basic school supplies. What was not in question was the dedication and qualifications of the African American teachers and principals assigned to these schools. In response to numerous unsuccessful attempts to ensure equal opportunities for all children, African American community leaders and organizations across the country stepped up efforts to change the educational system.
Her father tried to get her into a white school, which was only seven blocks away, but the principle of the school refused to allow her to enroll. Brown went to the head of Topeka’s NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and asked for his help. The NAACP was all eager to help the Browns in their case against the school because they wanted to take on segregation in schools for quite some time. The case was described as, “the right plaintiff at the right time.” By 1951, with other black parents joining the cause, the NAACP pushed for an injunction to end segregation in Topeka’s public schools. When the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas heard their case, the NAACP argued that segregated schools gave the message to black children that they weren’t equal, and naturally inadequate.
They filed the suit hoping that the school district would change its policy of racial segregation. When 20 parents tried to enroll their kids in the schools closest to them, they were denied enrollment. These schools were segregated and were the same as the ones black kids were supposed to attend. Since they were not allowed enrollment, the case was taken to the Topeka Board of Education. They decided that they should attend their own schools because they were exactly the same when it came to the facility, treatment, and staff.
She had both a mother and a father. Her mother was a high school vice-principal and her father owned a manufacturing company in Philly. Avery’s inspiration was her neighbor, pediatrician Emily Bacon; she was the one who took Avery to see her first premature baby. Avery went to private school her whole life and later went to Wheaton College. After graduating from Wheaton in 1948 with a degree in chemistry, she pursued her dream of going to medical school.
When Angelou was 12 years old an educated black woman from Stamps by the name of Bertha Flowers helped her to break this silence. Angelou graduated at the top of her Morrison 2 eighth grade class in Stamps, Arkansas. Because of the racial issues in Stamps, their grandmother thought it was in the best interest of the children to move them to California. Angelou attended George Washington High School where she studied dance, music and drama. At the age of seventeen Angelou graduated from high school and gave birth to a son Guy Bailey Johnson.
She also had a younger brother named, Sylvester McCauley. (Rosa Parks Bus, TheHenryFord.org) At the age of two Rosa, along with her mother, and younger brother moved to her grandparent’s farm in Pine Level, Alabama. (Rosa Parks Bus, TheHenryFord.org) At the age of eleven she enrolled in the Montgomery Industrial School for girls. This school was considered to be a private school for the young African American females. In order for her to get to school she had to walk.
Next I waited until class was over and my teacher asked me a series of questions mainly the difficult questions. I responded with the same answers I did on the test and they all were correct. Last she gave me my test back and told me very bluntly “Good Job.” When I got home I pondered in my mind what had happened and I realized that I was a victim of racial profiling, which is a part of racism. In addition to that, I realized that I wondered why the “rednecks” my age had a certain amount of hatred towards after towards African Americans. According to an article I had read by Ph.D. Monica Williams, “Some white people have some sort of hatred towards another race such as African Americans because that is what they may have been taught throughout their childhood while growing
I just really hoped for the best, later down the road 2 months have passed, I was sitting in 7th period and then my teacher got a call telling me to head down to the guidance counselor called me down, we talked about the direction I was going, my GPA was right where it should be. She went on and told me that if I do not pass those tests, I will not graduate. And then she told me about Fresh Start Community Campus. She called the school in front of me, and spoke to someone. She continued to tell me that a woman at the front desk told her if I attend there, I wouldn’t need to pass or even take those tests over there, and they’re not required!