Former President Clinton, his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and hundreds of other mourners paid their respects at Parks' open casket before the start of the funeral service that included the prayer in song by soprano Brenda Jackson.
Those in the audience held hands and sang "We Shall Overcome" as family members filed past the casket before it was closed just before noon.
Bishop Charles Ellis III of Greater Grace Temple led the service for 4,000 people packed in to say goodbye to the diminutive figure who sparked a civil rights revolution by refusing 50 years ago to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala.
"Mother Parks, take your rest. You have certainly earned it," Ellis said.