Final answer:
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat as a protest against segregation laws, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was a significant event in the civil rights movement and led to the end of bus segregation in Montgomery.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on December 1, 1955, to a White man on a Montgomery bus due to her resolve to stand against the oppressive segregation laws of the time. Prior to Parks' arrest, other African American women, including a high school student named Claudette Colvin, were arrested for similar acts of defiance.
However, Parks was a well-respected member of the community and her arrest galvanized Montgomery NAACP leaders to take action. Flyers were distributed and a mass meeting was organized to discuss a response which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
This boycott, largely organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association and supported by the Women's Political Council and local ministers, was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. About 50,000 African Americans in Montgomery participated, choosing not to ride the city buses for 381 days until the city ended its segregation policy. Parks herself was an active NAACP member, and her case became a test case to end segregation on public transportation, reinforcing the power of nonviolent protest.