Rosa Parks Rosa McCauly Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1913 and grew up on a small farm. When her mother had saved enough money to pay for it, Rosa had began to attend a private school when she was 11 years old. But, while she was attending high school, her mother had become ill so she had to quit. After quitting high school, she got a job as a house servant and began sending money back to her family. When she married Raymond Parks, she returned to high school and graduated. In 1943 she joined the NAACP and worked to ensure voting rights for blacks. One evening shortly after 5:00 PM on Thursday, December 1, 1955 while coming home from work, she boarded a bus and sat down. According to