[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROSA PARK'S COURAGEOUS OPPOSITION 
                             TO SEGREGATION

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2005

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of H. Con. Res. 
208, which recognizes the pivotal contribution of Mrs. Rosa Louise 
Parks. Mrs. Parks is best known as the seamstress who became a 
courageous activist and changed America forever with bold defiance of 
segregation. Although she has been portrayed as a quiet woman, her 
actions have spoken volumes. Her refusal, on December 1, 1955, to yield 
her seat to a white patron on a Montgomery, Alabama bus resulted in a 
charge of disorderly conduct. However, her action precipitated the 
famous Montgomery Bus Boycott, which brought Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr., to national prominence and prompted the U.S. Supreme Court 
decision to rule that segregation in public transportation is 
unconstitutional.
  As a result, many regard her as the ``Mother of the Civil Rights 
Movement.'' But there is far more to the story of the icon, Mrs. Rosa 
Parks. She was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama and 
educated at the Alabama State Teacher's College. Mrs. Parks and her 
husband, Raymond Parks, were very active in their local branch of the 
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 
She, in particular, served both as secretary and youth leader. After 
the boycott, Mrs. Parks' civil rights advocacy did not end. In 1957, 
she moved to Detroit to continue her work through the Office of 
Congressman John Conyers, Jr. Then, in 1988, after leaving his office, 
she started the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development 
to motivate youth to reach their highest potential.
  During the past four decades, she has continued to remind Americans 
of the history of the civil rights struggle. As a pioneer in the 
struggle for racial equality, subsequent generations owe her the 
sincerest appreciation. Although she is the recipient of innumerable 
honors, including the NAACP's Springarn Medal (1979), the Martin Luther 
King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize (1980), the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom (1996), and the Congressional Gold Medal (1999), we recognize 
the need for a national celebration of her contributions to the Civil 
Rights Movement.
  Mrs. Parks is a living symbol of courage and determination and an 
inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere. Since 2005 marks the 
50th anniversary of her act of civil disobedience and the beginning of 
desegregation efforts throughout America, Mr. Speaker, it behooves us 
to recognize her this year. It is my hope that in celebrating Mrs. 
Parks, this great Nation will continue to uphold her legacy.

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