“You allowed the rebirth of hope,” he said. (AP Photo/Montgomery County (Ala.) Sheriff's office) Montgomery County (Ala.) Sheriff / MONTGOMERY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday Oct. ** FILE ** A Montgomery (Ala.) Sheriff's Department booking photo of Rosa Parks taken Feb 22, 1956, is shown Friday, July 23, 2004, in Montgomery, Ala. Jesse Jackson called for a White House conference on civil rights, and likened Parks to an eagle. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke, as did former presidential candidate John Kerry, Ford Motor Co. How old was Rosa Parks on the bus Rosa Parks was 42 in 1955. Her actions spurred the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which ultimately led to the desegregation of buses within the city. Members of Congress and national civil rights leaders filled the pews. Rosa Parks is famous for refusing to give up her seat to a white man while riding the bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. Singers included Aretha Franklin and mezzo-soprano Brenda Jackson, who sang a soaring version of the Lord’s Prayer. Singers, politicians, civil rights leaders in attendance You have certainly earned it,” said Bishop Charles Ellis III of Greater Grace Temple, who led the service. Those in the audience held hands and sang the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” as family members filed past her casket before it was closed. 24 to Montgomery, Ala., where she sparked the civil rights movement 50 years ago by refusing to give her bus seat to a white man to Washington, where she became the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. The funeral, which stretched well past its three-hour scheduled time, followed a week of remembrances during which Parks’ coffin was brought from Detroit, where she died Oct. “And yet when the history of this country is written, it is this small, quiet woman whose name will be remembered long after the names of senators and presidents have been forgotten.” “The woman we honored today held no public office, she wasn’t a wealthy woman, didn’t appear in the society pages,” said Sen.

Rosa at parks