Rosa Parks sparks Civil Rights Movement

On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks, an African-American, was arrested and charged with violating a Montgomery, Ala., ordinance that required her to relinquish her bus seat to a white passenger. Her act of defiance sparked a yearlong bus boycott in the segregated city. It helped inspire a crusade that led Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, among other things, bars discrimination in public accommodations.

Parks’s status as an iconic figure in the civil rights movement began when she was seated in the first row of the rear, which was set aside for blacks. Because the front of the bus was full, the driver demanded that she give up her seat to a white rider. Her failure to do so resulted in a $10 fine, plus an additional $4 in court costs. In 1956, the Supreme Court found the ordinance unconstitutional.
Read more: Rosa Parks sparks Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Parks sparks Civil Rights Movement

Why Miss New York crashed Miss USA's Macy's Parade float

On Thursday morning, she donned her official sash and crown and hit the parade route with her sister, Ashley.
Looking the part of Miss Congeniality, she signed autographs and flashed a winning smile while her sister asked a parade official which float Miss New York was supposed to ride.
A man with a clipboard pointed them to Float No. 9, where Miss USA was ruling the roost atop the "Pep Rally" float.
There was no lying, because that's bad karma," Reeves said.
"At first, it was just fantastic!" said Reeves, who swanned onto the float as if she belonged there. Fakih "was surprised but happy to see me."
But with the hometown crowd cheering the local beauty a bit too loudly, Reeves wore out her welcome with Fakih's handlers.

"Someone asked me to take off my crown, because Miss USA wasn't wearing her crown," said Reeves, who willingly stuffed her tiara into a backpack.

But she didn't pack away her chutzpah. Still hamming it up, she was kicked to the back of the float five blocks later.
Read More: Why Miss New York crashed Miss USA's Macy's Parade float

Why Miss New York crashed Miss USA's Macy's Parade float