Quotes by Rosa Parks

“Each person must live their life as a model for others.”

“The only tired I was, was tired of giving in,”

“I have learned over the years that when ones mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

“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.”

“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.”

“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.”

“the real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long.”

“I was just trying to let them know how I felt about being treated as a human being,”

“He pointed at me and said, that one wont stand up. The two policemen came near me and only one spoke to me. He asked me if the driver had asked me to stand up? I said, yes. He asked me why I didnt stand up, ... I told him I didnt think I should have to stand up. So I asked him: Why do you push us around? And he told me, I dont know, but the law is the law and you are under arrest.”

“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.”

“I do the very best I can to look upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I dont think there is any such thing as complete happiness. I think when you say youre happy, you have everything you need and everything you want, and nothing more to wish for. I havent reached that stage yet.”

I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.

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

People always say that I didnt give up my seat because I was tired, but that isnt 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.

Whatever my individual desires were to be free I was not alone. There were others who felt the same way.

Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.

All I was doing was trying to get home from work.

I was born 50 years after slavery, in 1913. I was allowed to read. My mother, who was a teacher, taught me when I was a very young child. The first school I attended was a small building that went from first to sixth grade. There was one teacher for all of the students. There could be anywhere from 50 to 60 students of all different ages.

God has always given me the strength to say what is right.

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.