[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 292 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 292

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service 
   should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the late Rosa 
                                 Parks.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 7, 2005

Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Van Hollen, Mrs. Maloney, 
 Mr. Simmons, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
 Honda, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Grijalva, 
  Mr. Payne, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. 
 Shays, Mr. Markey, Ms. Berkley, Ms. Carson, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Smith 
   of Washington, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Hastings of 
Florida, Mr. Holt, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Rothman, Mr. Meeks of New 
 York, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Scott of Georgia, Mr. Meehan, 
   Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Mr. Evans, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Larson of 
  Connecticut, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. 
   Moore of Kansas, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Flake, Ms. Lee, Mr. Nadler, Mr. 
 Becerra, Mr. Dicks, and Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas) submitted 
    the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service 
   should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the late Rosa 
                                 Parks.

Whereas in 1955, Rosa Parks's quiet, courageous act changed the United States 
        and its view of African Americans, and redirected the course of history;
Whereas at that time, in Montgomery, Alabama, as in other cities in the Deep 
        South, the treatment of African Americans on public buses had long been 
        a source of resentment within the African American community;
Whereas under the segregated seating policies applying to passengers on public 
        buses, African Americans were required to pay their fares at the front 
        of a bus and reboard through the back door, and were, upon reboarding, 
        permitted to sit in a ``Colored'' section in the rear of the bus only if 
        all the White passengers had seats;
Whereas White busdrivers, who were invested with police powers, frequently 
        harassed African Americans, including by driving away after African 
        American passengers had paid their fares, but had not yet reboarded the 
        bus;
Whereas on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks took her seat in the front of the 
        ``Colored'' section of a Montgomery bus, but was asked, along with 3 
        other African Americans, to relinquish her seat to a White passenger;
Whereas although the 3 other African American passengers relinquished their 
        seats, Rosa Parks refused to do so, and was arrested for that refusal;
Whereas because Rosa Parks's act of disobedience launched the Montgomery bus 
        boycott, which lasted for 381 days and propelled the civil rights 
        movement into the national consciousness, she is widely known as the 
        mother of the civil rights movement; and
Whereas commemorative postage stamps have been commissioned to honor other great 
        leaders in American history: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States Postal Service should issue a 
        commemorative postage stamp honoring the late Rosa Parks; and
            (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the United 
        States Postal Service should recommend to the Postmaster 
        General that such a stamp be issued.
                                 <all>