[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 55 (Wednesday, April 21, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            AUTHORIZING AWARDING OF GOLD MEDAL TO ROSA PARKS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 1999

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute today to one of 
our Nation's heroes. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks has been called the 
Mother of the modern civil rights movement. She was born in Alabama in 
1913 and grew up in a racially segregated world. Rosa was forced to 
endure the horrors of white hooded racists who burned crosses and 
terrorized blacks. She was part of a generation of black children who 
were denied access to a public education and denied their basic human 
rights as equal citizens under law. But Rosa Parks was among those who 
championed the cause of right over might, for the sake of black 
Americans and all Americans. She overcame her fears of the segregated 
society in which she lived and faced down the racial hatred that 
clouded her childhood.
  December 1, 1955, marked a turning point in the life of Rosa Parks. 
After a hard day of work, she claimed a seat on a Montgomery city bus 
and then she refused to give it up to a white male. Her actions 
inspired the Montgomery bus boycott that led to the Supreme Court 
ruling overturning the laws of Alabama. This simple act of courage 
changed her life forever. Her decision is now remembered as the spark 
that lit the path of the march for civil rights. In 1955 Rosa Parks 
stayed in her seat and stood up to scores of unjust and racist laws. 
She has spent the rest of her life working and struggling for justice 
and equality for all.
  Mrs. Parks' peaceful defiance of racial segregation made her a legend 
in the history of this Nation. Today, children who understand little of 
the real horrors of racial segregation know the tale of Rosa Parts and 
how she helped to lead our nation to the end of this truly terrible 
chapter in our history.
  Today, Mrs. Parks is a legend who reminds us that though much has 
been accomplished since that cold December night in Montgomery AL, 
nearly 44 years ago, the struggle to end racism and inequality is far 
from over. I salute Rosa Parks for her innumerable contributions to our 
Nation--she is a woman whose story will inspire generations to come. I 
urge passage of H.R. 563, authorizing the President of the United 
States to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Mrs. Rosa Parks.

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