Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Rosa Parks was sitting on the bus going home from work. The bus driver tells her to give up her seat and she reacts surprised as she knows she wasn’t violating any laws by sitting on the neutral section. Rosa refused to move. The bus driver called the police and she was arrested. After that, people of color came together in a great mass meeting led by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. to support Rosa’s stand. The people walked instead of riding the buses. On November 13, 1956, almost a year after Rosa Parks’ arrest; the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on the buses, like segregation at schools was illegal. 

This book could be used for a history lesson to teach about discrimination and segregation: After reading this book, have students also read The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 and have them compare the two important historical events that occurred in both books.  Then have the students analyze how these two events helped the civil rights movement. Students may also further research on other African Americans that helped the civil rights movement and write a summary of their findings mentioning the name of the researched person, why and how the person contributed to the civil rights movement.  

TEKS: 5.5.A 

(5) History. The student understands important issues, events, and individuals in the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries. The student is expected to:

(A) analyze various issues and events of the 20th century such as industrialization, urbanization, increased use of oil and gas, the Great Depression, the world wars, the civil rights movement, and military actions