Doctor Who: Rosa
Travelling in the TARDIS, the Doctor brings her friends Graham, Ryan and Yaz to Montgomery, Alabama in the 1950s. At first, the friends are happy to be visiting the 1950s. However, they soon realise that it is not a safe place for some people. Meeting a woman named Rosa Parks, Team TARDIS figure out they have arrived just before an important event in history – the Montgomery bus boycott. Background to the Montgomery Bus Boycott Between 16th and 19th century, millions of African people were sold into slavery. In the USA, slavery ended in 1865. However, life for many African Americans remained hard. There were rules, called Jim Crow laws, that had to be followed. These included:
• not being allowed to vote in elections;
• only being able to do certain jobs;
• parks, restaurants and public transport being split so African-American people could only go to certain places (these places were not as good as those provided for white people).
The Origins of the Montgomery Bus Boycott On 2nd March 1955, an African American teenager called Claudette Colvin was getting a bus home from school. The bus was full so the driver ordered Claudette to give up her seat for a white person. At school, Claudette had been learning about how badly many African Americans had been treated. She refused to give up her seat. Claudette was arrested and sent to jail.
On 1st December that same year, Rosa Parks was travelling home from work. She got on a bus driven by a man called James Blake. As the bus filled up, Rosa Parks was told to leave her seat so white passengers could sit down. She refused. The police were called and Rosa Parks was arrested. Writing about the event years later, she said she was “tired of giving in”.
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The Bus Boycott Rosa Parks was a member of a group that wanted to improve life for African Americans. A campaign was started on 5th December 1956 and it was led by Martin Luther King Jr. It called for African Americans to boycott (stop using) Montgomery buses and instead share lifts, walk or cycle to wherever they needed to go. The aims of the boycott were:
• for all passengers to be treated politely by bus drivers;
• for no passenger to be made to give up their seat for people getting on the bus;
• to allow African Americans to become bus drivers.
Almost all African American people in Montgomery joined the boycott and the bus company began to lose money. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the campaign were arrested. Rosa Parks and her husband both lost their jobs. Eventually, the campaign was successful. On 21st December 1956, the segregation (split) between white and black people on buses in Alabama stopped.
Did You Know? In 2014, Asteroid 284996 was renamed ‘Rosa Parks’.
Doctor Who logo and WHO insignia™ and © BBC 2018. Licensed by BBC Studios
Page 2 of 2 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Questions 1. Where did the bus boycott take place? Tick the correct answer.
London Washington Montgomery 2. Who refused to give up their seat on a bus? Tick two answers.
Claudette Colvin Rosa Parks Martin Luther King Jr. 3. What decade did the events of the bus boycott take place in? Tick the correct answer.
1940s 1950s 1960s 4. Draw a line from the date to the event.
2nd March 1955 Segregation on Alabama buses ends.
1st December 1955 Claudette Colvin is arrested.
21st December 1956 Rosa Parks is arrested.
5. What was the name of the bus driver who drove Rosa Parks’ bus?
6. Fill in the missing word. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the campaign were .
7. If you could travel back in time and meet Rosa Parks, what would you ask her and why?
visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Answers 1. Where did the bus boycott take place? Tick the correct answer.
London Washington Montgomery 2. Who refused to give up their seat on a bus? Tick two answers.
Claudette Colvin Rosa Parks Martin Luther King Jr. 3. What decade did the events of the bus boycott take place in? Tick the correct answer.
1940s 1950s 1960s 4. Draw a line from the date to the event.
2nd March 1955 Segregation on Alabama buses ends.
1st December 1955 Claudette Colvin is arrested.
21st December 1956 Rosa Parks is arrested.
5. What was the name of the bus driver who drove Rosa Parks’ bus? The name of the driver was James Blake.
6. Fill in the missing word. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the campaign were arrested.
7. If you could travel back in time and meet Rosa Parks, what would you ask her and why? Answers should be the children’s own.
visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa
Travelling in the seemingly misbehaving TARDIS, the Doctor and her companions arrive in Montgomery, Alabama, 1955 instead of present-day Sheffield. Initially, Graham, Ryan and Yaz are thrilled to be visiting the 1950s. However, they soon realise that Alabama in the 1950s is not a safe place for some people. Meeting a woman named Rosa Parks, Team TARDIS figure out they have arrived just before a significant event in world history – the Montgomery bus boycott. Background to the Montgomery Bus Boycott From the 16th century onwards, millions of African people were sold into slavery. In the USA, slavery was abolished in 1865. However, life for many African Americans remained hard. Jim Crow laws were passed in many states limiting the rights of African Americans. These laws meant:
• all African Americans were unable to vote in elections;
• only certain jobs could be done by African-Americans;
• parks, restaurants and public transport were segregated (meaning there were separate facilities for black people and these often weren’t as good as those provided for white people).
The Origins of the Montgomery Bus Boycott On 2nd March 1955, African-American high-school student Claudette Colvin was taking a bus home. The bus was full and when more people tried to get on, the driver ordered Claudette to give up her seat for a white person. At school, Claudette had been learning about Harriet Tubman who had helped slaves escape through an underground railroad network. She had also been studying Sojourner Truth, a former slave who campaigned for women’s rights and the abolishment of slavery. Claudette later said she hadn’t left her seat because, “It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down, and Harriet Tubman was on the other side of me pushing me down. I couldn’t get up.” Claudette was arrested and sent to jail.
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On 1st December that same year, Rosa Parks was travelling home from work after a tiring day. She got on a bus driven by a man named James Blake. As the bus filled up, Rosa Parks was told to leave her seat so white passengers could sit down. She refused. The police were called and Rosa Parks was arrested. Writing about the event years later, she said, “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, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day…. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” The Bus Boycott Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), an organisation dedicated to improving the life of African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. led a campaign, starting on 5th December 1956, that called for all African Americans to boycott (stop using) Montgomery buses. Instead, they were to share lifts, walk or cycle to their destinations. The aims of the boycott were:
• for all passengers to be treated politely by bus drivers;
• for passengers to be seated on a first-come, first-served basis;
• to allow African Americans to become bus drivers.
Almost the entire African-American population of Montgomery joined the boycott and the bus company began to lose money. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the campaign were arrested. Rosa Parks and her husband both lost their jobs. Eventually, the campaign was successful. On 21st December 1956, segregation on buses in Alabama ended.
Page 2 of 3 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa
Key Events in the Civil Rights Movement
Brown vs Board of Education – The segregation of schools is 1954 ruled illegal.
1956 The segregation on buses in Alabama ends.
March on Washington – Over 250 000 people travel to Washington 1963 to campaign against racism. Martin Luther King Jr. makes his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
1964 The Civil Rights Act is passed.
1968 Martin Luther King Jr. is killed.
Did You Know? In 2014, Asteroid 284996 was renamed ‘Rosa Parks’.
Doctor Who logo and WHO insignia™ and © BBC 2018. Licensed by BBC Studios
Page 3 of 3 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Questions 1. When was slavery in the USA abolished? Tick the correct answer.
1765 1865 1965 2. What was the name given to laws that limited the rights of African Americans? Tick the correct answer.
Jim Crow laws Slave laws African laws 3. Number these events of the Montgomery bus boycott to show the order of when they happened. The first one has been done for you.
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus. The bus boycott started. 1 Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a bus. Segregation on Alabama buses was banned. 4. Draw a line from the person to the role they played in African-American history.
Helped enslaved people escape Harriet Tubman through the underground railroad.
Sojourner Truth Led the Montgomery bus boycott.
Campaigned for women’s rights Martin Luther King Jr. and the abolishment of slavery.
5. Where was Rosa Parks travelling home from on 1st December 1955?
6. Fill in the missing word. On 21st December 1956, on buses in Alabama ended.
Page 1 of 2 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Questions 7. What were the main aims of the Montgomery bus boycott?
8. How has the author organised the text in this information sheet?
Page 2 of 2 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Answers 1. When was slavery in the USA abolished? Tick the correct answer.
1765 1865 1965 2. What was the name given to laws that limited the rights of African Americans? Tick the correct answer.
Jim Crow laws Slave laws African laws 3. Number these events of the Montgomery bus boycott to show the order of when they happened. The first one has been done for you.
2 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus. 3 The bus boycott started. 1 Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a bus. 4 Segregation on Alabama buses was banned. 4. Draw a line from the person to the role they played in African-American history.
Helped enslaved people escape Harriet Tubman through the underground railroad.
Sojourner Truth Led the Montgomery bus boycott.
Campaigned for women’s rights Martin Luther King Jr. and the abolishment of slavery.
5. Where was Rosa Parks travelling home from on 1st December 1955? She was travelling home from work.
6. Fill in the missing word. On 21st December 1956, segregation on buses in Alabama ended.
Page 1 of 2 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Answers 7. What were the main aims of the Montgomery bus boycott? The main aims of the Montgomery bus boycott were that passengers should be treated politely by bus drivers, that they should be seated on a first-come, first-served basis and that African Americans could become bus drivers.
8. How has the author organised the text in this information sheet? The author has organised the text into paragraphs with subheadings. The author has also used bullet points and a table.
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With the TARDIS apparently misbehaving, alien time traveller, the Doctor, brings her human friends – Graham O’Brien, Ryan Sinclair, and Yasmin Khan – to Montgomery, Alabama, 1955. Initially, Graham, Ryan and Yaz are thrilled to be visiting the 1950s. However, they soon realise that Alabama in the 1950s is not a safe place for some people. Meeting a woman named Rosa Parks, Team TARDIS figure out they have arrived just before a significant event in world history – the Montgomery bus boycott. Background to the Montgomery Bus Boycott Between the 16th and 19th centuries, millions of African people were sold into slavery. In the USA, slavery was abolished in 1865. However, many African Americans continued to face persecution on a daily basis. The Jim Crow laws were laws passed in many states limiting the rights of African Americans. These laws meant:
• African Americans were unable to vote in elections;
• African Americans were barred from certain jobs;
• schools for African-American children received less public funding;
• parks, restaurants and public transport were segregated (meaning there were separate facilities for black people and these often weren’t as good as those provided for white people).
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The Origins of the Montgomery Bus Boycott On 2nd March 1955, African-American high-school student Claudette Colvin was getting a bus home. The bus was full so the driver ordered Claudette to give up her seat for a white person. At school, Claudette had been learning about Harriet Tubman who had helped enslaved people escape through a network of underground railroads. She had also been studying Sojourner Truth, a former slave who campaigned for women’s rights and the abolishment of slavery. Claudette later said she didn’t get up from her seat because, “It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down, and Harriet Tubman was on the other side of me pushing me down. I couldn’t get up.” Claudette was arrested and imprisoned.
On 1st December that same year, Rosa Parks was travelling home from work after a tiring day. She boarded a bus driven by a man named James Blake, a driver with whom she had previously had clashes. As the bus filled up, Rosa Parks was told to leave her seat so white passengers could sit down. She refused. The police were called and Rosa Parks was arrested. Writing about the event years later, she said, “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, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
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The Bus Boycott Rosa was a member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), an organisation dedicated to improving the life of African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. led a campaign, starting on 5th December 1956, that called for all African Americans to boycott (stop using) Montgomery buses. Instead, they were encouraged to share lifts, walk or cycle to their destinations. The aims of the boycott were:
• for all passengers to be treated politely by bus drivers;
• for passengers to be seated on a first-come, first-served basis;
• to allow African Americans to become bus drivers.
Around 90% of the African-American population of Montgomery joined the boycott and the bus company began to lose money. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the campaign were arrested. Rosa Parks and her husband both lost their jobs. However, eventually the campaign was successful and on 21st December 1956, segregation on buses in Alabama ended.
Page 3 of 4 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa
Key Events in the Civil Rights Movement
Brown vs Board of Education – The segregation of schools is 1954 ruled illegal.
1956 The segregation on buses in Alabama ends.
March on Washington – Over 250 000 people travel to Washington 1963 to campaign against racism. Martin Luther King Jr. makes his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The Civil Rights Act is passed, banning discrimination based on 1964 race, religion or gender.
1968 Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated.
Did You Know? In 2014, Asteroid 284996 was renamed ‘Rosa Parks’.
Doctor Who logo and WHO insignia™ and © BBC 2018. Licensed by BBC Studios
Page 4 of 4 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Questions 1. How old was Rosa Parks when she refused to give up her seat on the bus? Tick the correct answer.
32 years old 42 years old 52 years old 2. Draw a line from the date to the key event in the Civil Rights Movement.
The assassination 1954 of Martin Luther King Jr.
The case of Brown 1963 vs Board of Education
1968 The march on Washington DC
3. On what date did Claudette Colvin refuse to give up her seat on the bus?
4. What did Claudette Colvin mean when she said she “…couldn’t get up”?
5. Find and copy the word that means facilities, such as parks and restaurants, were separate.
Page 1 of 2 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Questions 6. How has the author organised the text and how does it help you get information from the text?
7. Explain the positive and negative impact the bus boycott had on Rosa Parks.
8. Summarise the text in three sentences.
Page 2 of 2 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Answers 1. How old was Rosa Parks when she refused to give up her seat on the bus? Tick the correct answer.
32 years old 42 years old 52 years old 2. Draw a line from the date to the key event in the Civil Rights Movement.
The assassination 1954 of Martin Luther King Jr.
The case of Brown 1963 vs Board of Education
1968 The march on Washington DC
3. On what date did Claudette Colvin refuse to give up her seat on the bus? 2nd March 1955
4. What did Claudette Colvin mean when she said she “…couldn’t get up”? Example answer: At school, she had learnt a lot about some of the amazing people who had helped African-American slaves in the past. She had felt strongly about what they had done and inspired by their actions which gave her the strength to be brave. She knew that because of them, she couldn’t give up her seat and let herself be treated unfairly.
5. Find and copy the word that means facilities, such as parks and restaurants, were separate. segregated
6. How has the author organised the text and how does it help you get information from the text? Example answer: The author has organised the text into paragraphs with sub-headings. This helps to understand what each section is about and helps us find information quickly. The author has also used bullet points which makes facts clear and easy to find. The author puts some information in a table which makes it easy to match up dates with events.
Page 1 of 2 visit twinkl.com Doctor Who: Rosa Answers 7. Explain the positive and negative impact the bus boycott had on Rosa Parks. Positive aspects to find include the fact that the bus boycott was successful (segregation ended, therefore seats were available to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis and all people riding on a bus were to be treated respectfully) and that she had an asteroid named after her. Negative aspects are that both she and her husband lost their jobs.
8. Summarise the text in three sentences. Example answer: African Americans were often treated badly in the USA. Some African-American women refused to give up their seats on a bus and a bus boycott was organised. The bus boycott was successful and segregation on buses ended.
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