Fingerprint Card of Rosa Parks
12/1/1955
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This fingerprint card of Rosa Parks was produced in association with her arrest for refusing to obey orders of a bus driver on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama.
It comes from the civil suit Browder vs. Gayle filed in U.S. District Court, challenging the constitutionality of the Montgomery and Alabama segregation laws. The plaintiffs in the case were Aurelia Browder, who was forced to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus on April 29, 1955; Claudette Colvin, who had been arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus on March 2; and two other women, Mary Louise Smith and Susie McDonald. Their arrests, along with Rosa Parks's in December, inspired Montgomery’s black community and the Women’s Political Council to plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, legally ending racial segregation on public transportation in the state of Alabama and ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott after 381 days.
It comes from the civil suit Browder vs. Gayle filed in U.S. District Court, challenging the constitutionality of the Montgomery and Alabama segregation laws. The plaintiffs in the case were Aurelia Browder, who was forced to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus on April 29, 1955; Claudette Colvin, who had been arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus on March 2; and two other women, Mary Louise Smith and Susie McDonald. Their arrests, along with Rosa Parks's in December, inspired Montgomery’s black community and the Women’s Political Council to plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, legally ending racial segregation on public transportation in the state of Alabama and ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott after 381 days.
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 641627
Full Citation: Fingerprint Card of Rosa Parks; 12/1/1955; Aurelia S. Browder et al. v. W. A. Gayle et al., No. 1147; Civil Cases, 9/1938 - 11/26/1968; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Atlanta, Morrow, GA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/fingerprint-card-of-rosa-parks, October 14, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
