I have been refused entrance
â
I have been refused entrance on the buses because
I would not pay my fare at the front
and go around to the rear door to enter.
That was the custom if the bus was crowded up to the point
where the white passengers would start occupying.
â
Meaning
This quote describes the humiliating customs of segregated buses, where Black riders paid but were still denied equal treatment and entry.
About Author
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist celebrated for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her quotes often reflect courage, justice, and dignity. Parks inspires activists, students, and citizens to stand against injustice, embrace civic responsibility, and advocate for equality and human rights.
Related Quotes
â You spend your whole lifetime in your occupation, actually making life clever, easy and convenient for white people. But when you have to get transportation home, you are denied an equal accommodation. Our existence was for the white man's comfort and well being; we had to accept being deprived of just being human. â
This quote means Black labor was used to make white life easier while Black people were denied even basic dignity in return.
â I had felt for a long time that, if I was ever told to get up so a white person could sit, that I would refuse to do so. â
This quote means her resistance had been forming inside her long before the famous incident. She had already decided she would refuse that injustice.
â People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically... No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in. â
This quote means her refusal was not caused by physical exhaustion but by emotional exhaustion from enduring constant injustice.