She just wouldn't get up--and with that simple, courageous act Rosa
Parks struck a blow against injustice. Parks showed what one person,
without guns or violence, could do to change the course of history
forever. Nelson Mandela claimed "she is who inspired us...to be fearless
when facing our oppressors." As a volunteer secretary for the NAACP,
Parks chronicled racial injustices and fought for desegregation. Then,
on December 1, 1955, she made a stand on a Montgomery, Alabama bus: she
refused to relinquish her seat for a white man. Her arrest mobilized the
black community for a citywide bus boycott that led to a landmark
Supreme Court decision. Award-winning author Ruth Ashby beautifully
conveys Park's dignity and determination.