Whether her status was goddess-like, indifferent or of no avail, many across the nation wept as an American symbol joined the rest in the sky Monday evening.
Throughout the years Parks had been the topic of great debate and her famous December 1955 protest could either have been a milestone or simply fatigue.
Although Parks wrote in her autobiography, "My Story," that she was tired of giving in, some students on campus said other protestors and public figures should have received as much credit. Others said she deserved nothing less.
"She was someone who was tired and decided not to move. It was righteous indignation," said Michael Lofties, a sophomore communication major. "To me she was not as major as Martin Luther King and was not a big name."
However, for some University of Memphis faculty and staff, Parks' story and protest was considered a launch pad for many subsequent leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr., and a model for the suppressed.
"She sparked the actual movement and was the catalyst as we know it," said Linda Hall, the coordinator for minority affairs. "The movement began then and went from being an idea to an actual action."
Hall's whole life was segregated until high school. She said pretty much everything outside of grocery stores was segregated.
However, Hall said Parks' protest was a hurdle jumped. Parks started the incident and it was a victory, she said. Parks was able to get a movement going, and its effects have spawned to even the smallest things today, she said.
"Just seeing the number of black students here at The U of M is a hurdle," Hall said.
Parks represented the fed up black person, according to Amber Gool, a junior sociology major.
"She was just pushed to the point where she couldn't be pushed anymore," Gool said.
During that time period the NAACP was looking for someone to challenge the segregation on buses, and Parks' protest was ideal to make the case, according to C. Edward Skeen, a professor emeritus in the department of history.
Skeen said Parks was a friend of then NAACP head, E.D. Nixon, and her incident allowed Nixon and King to start.
"When she called Nixon and told her she got arrested, that's what triggered it," Skeen said. "Then they got a hold of King. From there it was Nixon's and King's ball."
Skeen said Parks was a catalyst and a symbol, but not necessarily a leader.
"She started it. I don't think she, herself, would claim a greater role," Skeen said. "It served appropriate, and in fact, it all started there. They needed her defiance as an opportunity to get the movement started."
Stacey Harris, a public relations and marketing assistant for the National Civil Rights Museum, said 1955 was a year for civil rights, because it also included the murder of Emmitt Till. It paved the way for Parks to make an impact and in the end it had a great effect on the movement, she said.
"She would have an everlasting role in Civil Rights Movement," she said. "I don't think any civil rights classes could ever be discussed without mentioning Rosa Parks."
To many her life left an imprint on American history.
"I think she lived a rich long life and got to see the fruits of her labor," Hall said. "To see the fruits of her labor must have been very rewarding."
