Rosa Parks is widely recognized as the first African American woman to refuse to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. Her act of defiance against segregated seating policies became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. Parks was arrested for her refusal to vacate her seat for a white passenger, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The boycott lasted for over a year, leading to a Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation on public buses unconstitutional. Rosa Parks' courageous action and the subsequent movement she helped inspire were instrumental in the fight for civil rights and social justice.