Adding poignancy to Black History Month, today marks the birthday in 1913 of Rosa Parks, a shy woman who became a symbol of the fight for civil equality. Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white man. This sparked a boycott of the bus system by blacks, which greatly energized the ultimately successful civil rights movement. During her life, Rosa Parks championed the cause of increased opportunities for youth. When she was arrested in 1955, black children on average had attended about seven years of school. Now, over 83 percent of African-American adults have at least a high school diploma, and over 3.7 million are enrolled in college. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at <www.census.gov>.