Rosa Parks

In the mid 50s, being black meant being confronted every day with the same humiliations again and again.
Segregation reigned in all public places. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat when a white man had ordered her to get up and sit at the back of the bus. Rosa Parks was given a 10 dollars fine, but she appealed against the decision. If she had decided to pay, she would be declaring herself guilty. By lodging an appeal, she showed America that she was the victim of an injustice which had to be fought and vanquished. A 26-year old minister thought exactly the same: Martin Luther King. With a group of militants, he started a protest campaign, and organized a boycott of the city bus line, that was going to last 381 days and which caused the bus company to lose a huge amount of money. A feeling of resistance began to take shape.

Doc. Rosa Parks

- segregation
- humiliations
- black woman
- victim of injustice
- Martin Luther King
- protest campaign
- boycott of the city bus line

To be booed:être hué
To be prosecuted and fined: être poursuivi et jugé
To get up: se lever
To sit at the back of the bus: s'asseoir au fond du bus
A feeling of resistance began to take shape: un sentiment de resistance commença à prendre corps
A 10 dollars fine: une amende de 10 dollars
A lawyer: un avocat
To improve: améliorer
Civil and passive disobedience: la désobéissance civile et passive
Their watchwords: leurs slogans
Courteous: courtois
To be hired: être embauché
The users: les utilisateurs
Unconstitutional: contraire à la constitution
To be crowned with success: être couronné de succès
Segregationist laws were repealed: les lois ségrégationnistes furent abrogées (annulées)
A Minister: un pasteur