The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

How did Rosa Parks perceive the cost of activism? Did she feel that the outcome was worth the high price? Develop an argument that answers this question.

Many others did exactly what Parks did before December 1. Why was she chosen to become the symbol of the bus boycott? How did she feel about being singled out for her decision? How did the symbolization of Parks affect public perception of the civil rights movement?

What is the fable of the American civil rights movement? How does this narrative differ from the reality of the cause? How does this fable contribute to or detract from current conversations about race and discrimination?

Theoharis explores perceptions of Parks as a woman in the civil rights movement. How did Parks’s gender play a role in her treatment and placement within the power structures of the organizations she worked with? How did it influence her characterization as a symbol?

Parks was often frustrated by the complacency she saw in those around her. What did complacency look like to her? How do you think Parks would characterize complacency today?

Parks’s life influenced many different people and events. Trace an event’s connection to her, showing how her life contributed to it both as a symbol and as an activist.

How did Parks’s interest in the Black Power movement contrast with the symbol she was known for? What ideals did she connect with? Why?

What did Parks’s childhood foreshadow about the woman she became? How did her values either change or remain the same as she aged?