Tag Archives: equal rights

Rosa Parks

In Pearl class, we have been learning about Black History Month. This is a time where we learn, honour, and celebrate the achievements of black men and women throughout history.

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In particular, we learnt about a very special lady called Rosa Parks.

We read the story If a Bus Could Talk’ by Faith Ringgold and watched a video to learn more about her life. Click here to watch the video clip.

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From reading the book, watching the video and then researching about her using the laptops and iPads, we found out the following information.

  • Rosa Parks was born on the 4th February 1913 and she died on 24th October 2005, aged 92.
  • She was African-American.
  • During the 1950s in America, there was a civil rights movement which meant that people with the same coloured skin were not allowed to mix with people with different coloured skin.
  • On 1st December 1955, Rosa was sat on a bus and she was arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus to a white passenger.
  • She was ordered to pay a fine of $10 but she refused as she believed that the law was wrong.
  • She continued to fight for equality and rights for all African-Americans and has become a symbol of equality and freedom to many.
  • She wrote an autobiography called Rosa Parks: My Story in 1992.

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We spent time in class discussing how upsetting that must have been for Rosa, to have been discriminated against just because the colour of her skin.

In Pearl class, there are a lot of different skin colours and we have children with different ethnicity but we treat everyone the same. It would be unfair to treat someone differently if they didn’t have the right shoes on or if they had different colour of hair.

Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and deserves to be treated the same.

Have a look at some of the learning that we have completed in class about Rosa Parks.

How to continue the learning at home:

  • Learn about other African-Americans and learn why they are important. E.g. Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela
  • Talk to your child about equality and treating everyone with respect, regardless of their skin colour, ethnicity or background.