Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was a seamstress from Montgomery, Alabama, in the United States. On 1 December 1955, she staged a protest on a segregated bus, by refusing to relinquish her seat to Graham O'Brien, a white passenger.

This protest resulted in her arrest but led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, beginning on 5 December, and, ultimately, to a wider Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King. (TV: Rosa)

Before 1955
Parks once wished to be a teacher, but she had to drop out of school due to the ill health of her grandmother and mother. She was still educated, but at a later date than she anticipated. At some point, she became a seamstress and married her husband, Raymond Parks.

In 1943, Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery through the front door and paid her fare, but was forced off the bus and ordered to enter through the back. When Parks attempted to re-enter, the driver departed without her.

She, her husband, Martin Luther King, and Fred Gray appeared to fight against the racial intolerance in the city, and they ran a youth council.

Before 30 November 1955 she read about the death of Emmett Till in the newspaper.

Taking a stand
The Thirteenth Doctor and her companions helped Parks take her in history place by preventing the time travelling, racist serial killer Krasko from sending Rosa to a different time, and then from altering history.

They later helped set up Rosa's defining moment in history on 1 December 1955, by becoming extra passengers on the bus; Ryan took up the last available place in the back of the bus, while Graham became the white passenger that the bus driver had to find a seat for. Parks refused to relinquish her seat, sparking her historic arrest.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott began the following Monday. Both Rosa Parks and her husband lost their jobs after the arrest, but according to the Thirteenth Doctor, "they [kept] fighting". (TV: Rosa)

Later life
In June 1999, Parks was awarded the Congressional Medal for her services to the advancement of black people's rights in America. According to the Thirteenth Doctor, this recognised her as a "living icon for freedom". (TV: Rosa)

Legacy
Parks' contribution to civil rights would be remembered well into the future. By the 21st century, Redlands Primary had a class named after Parks among other "inspiring people", and Grace O'Brien owned a t-shirt that said "The Spirit of Rosa".

By the time the Stormcage Containment Facility was built, her contribution to racial equality was still remembered. It was considered poignant enough that the racist criminal Krasko attempted to alter history to prevent Parks's legacy from coming to fruition.

At some point, Asteroid 284996 was named Rosaparks in her honour. (TV: Rosa)

Personality
Parks was persistent and yet somewhat wary of the world around her due to racial tensions in Montgomery. She advised the Thirteenth Doctor and her companions to get out of Alabama after Ryan Sinclair was slapped for trying to return Lizzie Steele’s glove, citing Emmett Till’s death, and seemed somewhat concerned when she encountered Krasko. She was also initially reluctant to trust Ryan, explaining he could be a police or FBI spy, but warmed to him and proposed to her husband, Gray and King that Ryan could be an advisor to their Youth Council.

She was defiant in the face of racial discrimination and segregationist policies. She questioned the practices of the Montgomery buses in 1943 and was disinterested in the Doctor’s alleged raffle when she was informed she would not be able to sit anywhere she liked on the bus. This culminated in her historic arrest.

Her persistence continued after her arrest, as the Doctor explained that she “[kept] fighting” after losing her job, until she was eventually awarded the Congressional Medal in 1999.

Behind the scenes

 * Rosa Parks is the first historical figure featured in BBC Wales Doctor Who whose lifespan covers part of the revived series. She died in October 2005, several months after the broadcast of series 1.