Rosa Parks Viewing Guide

Rosa Parks & Civil Rights Viewing Guide

1. What were the Jim Crow laws?
2. What was life like for African Americans under the Jim Crow laws?
3. What is the meaning of the term, “separate but equal”?
4. In what ways did the stories Rosa’s grandparents told about slavery affect her?
5. Why was it so dangerous for Rosa to stand up to the white boy who threatened to hit her?
6. How did the white teachers at Rosa’s school in Montgomery influence her character?
7. What did Southern lawmakers do to make it difficult for African Americans to register and vote?
8. What do you think it felt like for African Americans to ride on segregated buses?
9. It took both courage and determination for Rosa to remain in her seat after the bus driver ordered her to move. Explain why?
10. What was Rosa’s explanation for why she decided not to move back in the bus?
11. Why was Rosa’s decision called the spark that ignited the Civil Rights Movement?
12. What made the Montgomery bus boycott successful? How did it affect the white community?
13. Why was the boycott so hard on the black community?
14. What were the landmark legal decisions that made legal segregation a thing of the past?
15. Why is Rosa Parks considered one of today’s true heroes?