Rosa Parks Net Worth

Rosa Lousie McCauley Parks net worth is
$100,000

Rosa Lousie McCauley Parks Wiki Biography

Rosa Lousie McCauley Parks, born on the 4th of February 1913, was an American activist who was one of the key persons in the US Civil Rights Movement. She became famous for her actions in 1955 when she refused to give her bus seat to white people, which led to a 381-day strike known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The uprising eventually paved the way to the removal of the segregation system in public facilities in Montgomery, Alabama. She passed away in 2005.

So how much is Parks’ net worth? As of late 2017, based on authoritative sources, it is reported to be $100,000, acquired from her years doing public work, including delivering an uncountable number of speeches.

Rosa Parks Net Worth $100,000

Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Parks was the daughter or James and Leona McCauley. Unfortunately, her parents separated when she was two years old, prompting her and her mother to live with her maternal grandparents in Pine Level, Alabama.

Even when young, Parks experienced inequality in her hometown. She was taught by her mother to read, and then enrolled into segregated schools in Montgomery. She attended Industrial School for Girls when she was 11, and later on a secondary school led by the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes. Unfortunately, while she was in 11th grade, her mother and grandmother fell ill and she took the responsibility of taking care of them, foregoing her education.

Parks then started working after leaving school, and at 19 married Raymond Parks. With her husband’s support, she was able to officially finish high school in 1933, and they became active members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP. She also worked as a seamstress at a Montgomery store.

In December 1, 1955, Parks life took a different term when she decided to fight back against racism during a bus ride home. While seating in the colored section of the bus, the driver noticed that there were plenty of white people who weren’t able to take a seat. The driver demanded that Rosa and three other black passengers give their seats to white people, but only she refused. Later that night, Parks was arrested but was released on bail. However her actions triggered a movement among the African-American community. NAACP asked their people to stay off city busses on December 5, 1955 to support Parks on her arrest. The boycott was to last 381 days, and resulted in the change of some Alabama segregation laws.

When Parks was brought to court, around 500 people came to the trial to give her support. After the hearing, she was found guilty of violating a local ordinance and was fined $14. However, the trial only sparked a bigger fire among the African-American community. They continued their protest of refusing to take the local bus to create real change in their community.

Meantime, around 40,000 African-Americans chose to carpool, ride cabs, or walk just to avoid riding the bus. In 1956, a black legal team went to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Northern Division and raised the issue of segregation on public transit systems and filed a suit. In June 1956, the black legal team won and the district court declared that the racial segregation law was unconstitutional. Although the city of Montgomery fought back, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling and the transit company’s continuing losses left them no choice but to lift the segregation system. The Montgomery Bus Boycott finally ended in December 20, 1956.

Despite her becoming an inspiration in the Civil Rights Movement, Parks still suffered challenges in her personal life. She was removed from her job as a seamstress, as did her husband who worked as a barber. They decided to move to Detroit, Michigan along with her mother and were able to work as a secretary and receptionist in US Representative John Conyer’s congressional office. She also later on became part of the board of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Her years after moving into Michigan, helped her in building a new life and also her income.

Later on, Parks also founded Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development. The group organizes “Pathways to Freedom” bus tours, educating young people, the importance of civil rights.

Parks also became an author later on in life, and wrote “Rosa Parks: My Story” in 1992 and “Quiet Strength” in 1995. Her books also helped in building her net worth.

Parks was also recognized for her work in the Civil Rights Movement. Some of her accolades include the Martin Luther King Jr. Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton, the Congressional Gold Medal given by the U.S. Legislative Branch, and the Spingarn Medal, the highest award given by the NAACP among others.

In terms of her personal life, Parks was married to Raymond Parks until he died from cancer in 1977. She passed away on 24 October 2005 at the age of 92 in her apartment in Detroit, Michigan, suffering from the effects of dementia. The US Congress called her “the first lady of civil rights”, and “the mother of the freedom movement”.

Known for movies

Of Civil Wrongs & Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story (2000)
as Herself

19th Annual NAACP Image Awards (1987)
as Herself - Presenter

A Place of Rage (1991)
as Herself

21st NAACP Image Awards (1989)
as Herself