25 Most Inspiring Rosa Parks Quotes
“Rosa Parks” by “Lieske Leunissen-Ritzen“, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, or Rosa Parks is also known as “the mother of the freedom movement” and “the first lady of civil rights”, was an African American activist. She is best known for her crucial role in the Montgomery bus boycott during the civil rights movement. It became an important symbol of the movement, and she turned into an international icon of resistance to racial discrimination. Martin Luther King Jr. and Edgar Nixon were leaders with whom she collaborated and organized several movements.
Parks and her husband suffered job loss because of economic sanctions used against activists. She published Rosa Parks: My Story, an autobiography in 1992 and Quiet Strength, her memoir in 1995. She also filmed a cameo appearance for the television series Touched by an Angel in 1999. In 2005, on October 24, she died of natural causes.
Let us have a look at these 25 most inspiring Rosa Parks quotes to experience her journey of courage, suffering and making of a powerful persona!
Inspirational Rosa Parks Quotes
With her defiance and resistance towards the discrimination that was prevailing in America, Rosa Parks inspired thousands of youth and existing leaders to join her movement. Check out these inspirational Rosa Parks quotes to know further!
“Life is to be lived to its fullest so that death is just another chapter. Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.”
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
“It is better to teach or live equality and love … than to have hatred and prejudice.”
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 with Gregory J. Reed in her memoir “Quiet Strength”
“I do the very best I can to look upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I don’t think there is any such thing as complete happiness.”
Rosa Parks Quoted in “Standing Up for Freedom,” Academy of Achievement.org
“Memories of our lives, of our work and our deeds will continue in others.”
Rosa Parks
“Without vision, people perish, and without courage and inspiration dreams die.”
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
“There were times when it would have been easy to fall apart or to go in the opposite direction, but somehow I felt that if I took one more step, someone would come along to join me.”
Rosa Parks
“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 in “The Meaning of Life: Reflections in Words and Pictures on Why We Are Here”. Book by David Friend, 1991.
“Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way.”
Rosa Parks
“The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
Rosa Parks in her autobiography, “Rosa Parks : My Story”
Rosa Parks Quotes on Racism
Rosa Parks was arrested because of her Montgomery bus boycott, which marked her strong presence as a leader who was not afraid of fighting for her rights and others like her. She always spoke actively against racial segregation, and it made her an international icon. Let us check out some of the most powerful Rosa Parks quotes on racism!
“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 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
“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
“Nothing in the Golden Rule says that others will treat us as we have treated them. It only says that we must treat others in a way that we would want to be treated.”
Rosa Parks
“From the time I was a child, I tried to protest against disrespectful treatment.”
Rosa Parks
“Differences of race, nationality or religion should not be used to deny any human being citizenship rights or privileges.”
Rosa Parks
“The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.”
Rosa Parks Quoted in The Story Behind the Bus, The Henry Ford Org.
“Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it.”
Rosa Parks with Gregory J. Reed in her memoir “Quiet Strength”
This is a small tribute to the lady who kept fighting for the rights of thousands of people till the time she died despite facing financial issues and other sufferings. I hope she inspired you, too, for standing up for yourself and thousand others and never giving up no matter the circumstances.
If you enjoyed reading these quotes, then you should also check out these Oprah Winfrey Quotes on Inspiration!
