Explanation
Rosa Parks is considered one of the central figures of the U.S. civil rights movement. On December 1, 1955, she deliberately violated segregation laws by refusing to surrender her seat to a white passenger. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for over a year and, under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., became a pivotal moment in the struggle against racial segregation. Parks’ act of defiance highlighted how civil disobedience can serve as a powerful tool to draw attention to injustice and initiate social change.
Theoretical Reference
Rosa Parks’ action illustrates Émile Durkheim’s thesis that deviance can play a functional role in society by marking normative boundaries and enabling social transformation. In criminology, her example resonates with perspectives on deviance as innovation and the social function of norm violation.