Rosa Parks (1913–2005) symbolically strikes the Liberty Bell at Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 18, 1988

The civil rights activist Rosa Parks is best known for her role in the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, a 381-day-long campaign to protest racial segregation on the public transit system in Montgomery, Alabama. She worked on the campaign with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who led the Montgomery Improvement Association in the successful bus boycott through 1956. On January 18, 1988, nearly 20 years after King’s assassination, Parks joined Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode in a symbolic striking of the Liberty Bell at the same time that bells in Atlanta and London were also rung to mark the third national observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.