The Rosa Parks Barbie pays tribute to the African American civil rights activist best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which followed an incident in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, when Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated city bus. The boycott was led by a young Martin Luther King Jr. and became a significant event in the Civil Rights Movement. It resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.

Parks joins a list of women honored in the Barbie Inspiring Women series, including singers Celia Cruz and Ella Fitzgerald, astronauts Sally Ride and Ellen Ochoa, figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, tennis champions Venus Williams and Billie Jean King, and other athletes such as Sue Bird. In fashion, the collection is represented by Anna Sui. Dolls in other categories include Wilma Mankiller, Bessie Coleman, Madam C.J Walker,  Dr. Jane Goodall,  Ida B Wells, Maya Angelou, Isabel Allende, Maria Tallchief, Anna May Wong, Florence Nightingale, Amelia Earhart, Katherine Johnson, Helen Keller, and Frida Kahlo.