Parks and other civil rights pioneers are credited with starting the 13-month Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The boycott, which began Dec. 5, 1955 to Dec. 20, 1956, was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating.
Parks helped launch the boycott after refusing to give up her seat while riding the bus home from work.
She was arrested and fined $10, plus $4 in court fees.
On June 5,1956, a Montgomery federal court ruled that any law requiring racially segregated seating on buses violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
That amendment, adopted in 1868 following the U.S. Civil War, guarantees all citizens—regardless of race—equal rights and equal protection under state and federal laws.