Challenge #5

People

*She was a community activist for many years, serving as secretary of the local chapter of the NAACP.

*Often called the "Mother of the Civil-Rights Movement," she is also considered a symbol of courage and determination and is an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere."

*After her death in 2005, her body lay in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol; she was the first woman accorded such an honor.

*Contrary to standard accounts of her act of civil disobedience, she has stated that she was not physically tired but was "tired of giving in."

*By forcing police to remove, arrest and imprison her for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, and then agreeing to become a test case of segregation ordinances, she played an important role in the Montgomery bus boycott (1955-56).

*Her case ultimately resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that segregated bus service was unconstitutional; in 1999, the U.S. Congress awarded her the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.