Rosa Parks was 42 at the time of her arrest, her crime was in refusing to relinquish her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This action of hers was in a direct violation of a city law that required black people to ride in the rear of the bus. She was found guilty three days after the incident and ordered to pay a fine of $10, as well as an additional $4 in court costs.

When Parks was riding on the bus she was sitting in the first row that was allocated to the black population in the rear of the vehicle. Because the front of the vehicle was full the driver demanded that she give up her seat to a white man riding the bus. She refused to give up her seat, the ensuing controversy over the incident resulted in a local boycott. Parks along with 88 others were arrested in February 1956 over the boycott, the protest continued for more than a year until the Supreme court ruled that the law in Montgomery was unconstitutional. On December 21, 1956, Rosa Parks and any others that were previously denied was able to ride in the front of the bus.

Rosa Parks actions on that December day, her act of civil disobedience inspired a nationwide civil rights movement that would continue for almost a decade. In 1964, protestors were victorious when the Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress. This guaranteed full access to all residents regardless of their colour or creed of all the public facilities throughout the nation.