Add to ORKGMay 17, 2004 marked the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Linda Brown (1943- ), a Topeka, Kansas third grader, is the symbol of bringing down segregation in U.S. schools. Rosa Parks (1913- ), the mother of the Civil Rights Movement, refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus on December 1, 1955. Coretta Scott King (1927- ) has created the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as a living memorial to her husband\u27s life and dream. In January 1986, because of her efforts, she celebrated the first legal holiday in honor of her husband. These three women hold prominent places in the history of the United States. They hold their places in history either by choice or by chance