Dr Who and Rosa Parks

I just got my new season of Dr Who to watch.  I've not seen any of this season with the new female doctor but I hit the episode on Rosa Parks and was impressed.  The basic story line was that someone from another time to keep Rosa from refusing to give up her seat and the Doctor and her companions had to keep history on track.

Rosa Parks came from a family who valued education but she had to drop out in the 11th grade to care for her dying grandmother.  When she was 19, she married a man 10 years her senior but he encouraged her to finish her diploma. She spent much of her life working as a seamstress but she also worked at the chapter secretary for the local NAACP  beginning in 1943.

Even in 1955, when she took action, African Americans were required to sit in the back of the bus, drink from separate water fountains, restricted to certain schools, certain libraries,  and certain eating establishments.  She and others wanted to change that through action.  When she chose not to move when the "Whites Only" part of the bus had to be changed, she sparked something big.

Although, she used her one phone call to contact her husband, word spread throughout the community. On the day of her trial, in which she'd been found guilty, the African American community began boycotting the bus system.  This boycott lasted 381 days where people carpooled, rode African American taxi's, or walked causing the buses to be almost empty because African American's made up 70 percent of the ridership. 

The boycott also caused financial problems with the bus company because they were no longer transporting full buses while leaders who organized the boycott faced violence and the taxi's were targeted when they were accused of breaking certain laws. 

 In addition, she was named as a plaintiff for one of the court cases that went all the way too the Supreme court claiming segregation on the bus was illegal based on the recent decision which stated segregated schools were illegal.

On December 20, 1956, the court's decision arrived in Montgomery, ending segregation on buses forever.  It wasn't smooth sailing because Rosa and her husband received threats, both lost their jobs and eventually, they chose to move to Detroit.  There, she started a training program in her husband's name to help the youth of that city.  

In 1999, she the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given to civilians by the Government. In addition, when she died in 2005, she was the only woman in history allowed to lie in state in Washington D.C.

The one new piece of information, I gained from the show was that in 2014, they named a recently discovered asteroid after this lady who made history.  I'd love to hear what you think.  Have a great day.