Parks describes courage as closely connected to resolve. In her account, fear diminished once she had decided what she believed was right and accepted that she would act accordingly. The quotation does not present courage simply as an absence of fear; it links reduced fear to clarity of purpose and a firm decision about what must be done.

The wider passage places this idea in the context of Parks’s refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery in 1955. She recalls being tired of racial discrimination, segregation and repeated mistreatment rather than physically exhausted or overcome by fear. Her decision therefore arose from a broader experience of injustice. The quotation illustrates how moral conviction can shape an emotional response: once Parks had settled on a course of action, concern about its immediate consequences became less important than acting in accordance with that judgement.

Full quotation

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear. When I sat down on the bus the day I was arrested, I was thinking of going home. I had made up my mind quickly about what it was that I had to do, what 1 felt was right to do. I did not think of being physically tired or fearful. After so many years of oppression and being a victim of the mistreatment that my people had suffered, not giving up my seat—and whatever I had to face after not giving it up—was not important. I did not feel any fear at sitting in the seat I was sitting in. All I felt was tired. Tired of being pushed around. Tired of seeing the bad treatment and disrespect of children, women, and men just because of the color of their skin. Tired of the Jim Crow laws. Tired of being oppressed. I was just plain tired.”