Teaching The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

Jump to: Overview • Teaching Guide • Documentary • Stories from the Classroom • Book Distribution • More Resources • Share Your Story • Donate

Overview

Rosa Parks is one of the most well-known U.S. women of the 20th century and yet much of what has been taught about her is narrow, limited, and at times wrong. This is changing thanks to the release in 2021 of the young adult book, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, and a new film with the same title — both based on the Parks’ biography by Jeanne Theoharis.

The book and the documentary film (produced by Soledad O’Brien Productions and directed by Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton) depict Rosa Parks’ life-long dedication to justice. They chronicle her childhood, her activism before and during the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott, her work for Congressman John Conyers in Detroit, and her involvement in causes such as voting rights, anti-apartheid, reparations, fair housing, women’s rights, and the fight against police violence.

To facilitate classroom use of the book and film, the Zinn Education Project is coordinating book distribution and educator film screenings, as well as making a teaching guide for The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks available online. Learn more about these resources below. They are made possible by Soledad O’Brien Productions and funded by The Ford Foundation. Lush Cosmetics and Beacon Press provided additional funding for book distribution.

Teaching Guide

A collection of lessons for middle and high school classrooms based on the book and/or film, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. Some of the lessons focus on why Rosa Parks is so widely misunderstood — and what this says about national myths, histories, and memorialization. Others take a deeper dive into a particular event or topic.

Documentary Film

Based on the bestselling biography by Jeanne Theoharis and executive produced by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, this 2022 documentary depicts Rosa Parks’ life-long dedication to justice. The film chronicles her childhood, her activism before and during the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott, her work for Congressman John Conyers in Detroit, and her involvement in causes such as voting rights, anti-apartheid, reparations, fair housing, women’s rights, and the fight against police violence. The Zinn Education Project provided free licenses for educators to stream the film from January to March of 2023. The film continues to be available on Peacock.

Documentary Film

Stories from the Classroom

Photos and stories from selected classrooms about teachers’ use of the book and film, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.

Classroom Stories

Book Distribution

Since April of 2022, the Zinn Education Project has shipped more than 13,000 copies of the young readers’ edition of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks to teachers requesting copies to pair with their history or language arts curriculum. More copies are available thanks to generous donations.

Book Distribution

More Resources

Here are additional resources to supplement lessons on the book and film, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.

Share Your Story

Stories from the classroom can inform and inspire more teachers to teach outside the textbook about Rosa Parks. We invite you to share your story. Selected responses will be posted at the Zinn Education Project website. We’ll send teachers books in appreciation for sending your feedback.

Share Your Story

Donate

Help us bring the young readers edition of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks to more classrooms. Please donate today.