Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has called her “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”. These Rosa Parks quotes about education, equality, love, to bring change will inspire you in life.
Best Rosa Parks Quotes
- “Each person must live their life as a model for others.” ― Rosa Parks
- “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
- “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” ― Rosa Parks
- “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.” ― 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.” ― Rosa Park
- “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.” ― Rosa Parks
- “Arrest me for sitting on a bus? You may do that.” ― Rosa Parks
- “As a child, I learned from the Bible to trust in God and not be afraid. And I felt the Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face. God did away with all my fear.” ― Rosa Parks
- “To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.” – Rosa Parks
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“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.” ― Rosa Parks
- “We had a saying that we worked “from can to can’t,” which means working from when you can see (sunup) to when you can’t (sundown).” ― Rosa Parks
- “People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” ― Rosa Parks
- “There is just so much hurt, disappointment, and oppression one can take… The line between reason and madness grows thinner.” ― Rosa Parks
- “I’m tired of being treated like a second-class citizen.” – Rosa Parks
- “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 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.” ― Rosa Parks
- “All I was doing was trying to get home from work.” ― Rosa Parks
- “I learned to put my trust in God and to see Him as my strength. Long ago I set my mind to be a free person and not to give in to fear. I always felt that it was my right to defend myself if I could. 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
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“I will always work for human rights for all people.” – Rosa Parks
- “Without vision, people perish, and without courage and inspiration dreams die.” – Rosa Parks
- “Why do you all push us around?” – Rosa Parks
- “Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.” ― Rosa Parks
- “That was a difference between black slaves and white indentured servants. Black slaves were usually not allowed to keep their names, but were given new names by their owners.” ― Rosa Parks
- “What really matters is not whether we have problems, but we go through them. We must keep going on to make it through whatever we are facing.” – Rosa Parks
- “The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.” – Rosa Parks
- “It was just a matter of survivalーlike getting off the roadーso we could exist form day to day.” ― Rosa Parks
- “What I learned best at Miss White’s school was that I was a person with dignity and self-respect, and I should not set my sights lower than anybody else just because I was black.” ― Rosa Parks
- “I had decided that I would not go anywhere with a piece of paper in my hand asking white folks for any favors. I had made that decision myself, as an individual.” ― Rosa Parks
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“God has always given me the strength to say what is right.” – Rosa Parks
- “Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way.” – Rosa Parks
- “Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today’s mighty oak is yesterday’s nut that held its ground.” – Rosa Parks
- “I see the energy of young people as a real force for positive change.” – Rosa Parks
- “I believe there is only one race – the human race.” – 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?” ― Rosa Parks
- “I knew someone had to take the first step and I made up my mind not to move.” – Rosa Parks
- “One person can change the world.” – Rosa Parks
- “I will no longer act on the outside in a way that contradicts the truth that I hold deeply inside. I will no longer act as if I were less than the whole person I know myself inwardly to be.” – 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.” – Rosa Parks
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“There is no future without education.” – Rosa Parks
- “People need to free their minds of all racial prejudice.” – 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.” ― Rosa Parks, Rosa Parks Quotes about equality
- “There was an opportunity for me to take a stand.” – Rosa Parks
- “Time begins the healing process of wounds cut deeply by oppression. We soothe ourselves with the salve of attempted indifference.” ― Rosa Parks
- “As far back as I can remember, I knew there was something wrong with our way of life when people could be mistreated because of the color of their skin.” ― Rosa Parks