All I was trying to do was get home from work.

I was ready to die but give my consent never. Never, never.

People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.

Why do you all push us around?

People have said over the years that the reason I did not give up my seat was because I was tired. I did not think of being physically tired. My feet were not hurting. I was tired in a different way. I was tired of seeing so many men treated as boys and not called by their proper names or titles. I was tired of seeing children and women mistreated and disrespected because of the color of their skin. I was tired of Jim Crow laws, of legally enforced racial segregation.

I knew someone had to take the first step. So I made up my mind not to move.