The legend of Rosa Parks depicts her as an everyday woman who simply was “too tired” one day and refused to give up her seat on the bus, as was required by the Montgomery city code. The actual Parks was a longtime activist in Alabama who formerly had spent much time investigating sexual assaults perpetrated by white men against black women, and was as well active in her local NAACP chapter, in which she served as secretary to labor union leader E. D. Nixon. In this interview, Parks explains her decision not to give up her seat on the bus.

Evaluating the Evidence