[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 116 (Thursday, September 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROSA PARKS' REFUSAL TO GIVE UP HER 
  SEAT ON THE BUS AND THE SUBSEQUENT DESEGREGATION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 14, 2005

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, nearly 50 years ago on December 1, 1955, 
history was altered considerably by the refusal of a Black woman to 
give up her seat to a White man on a public bus. This woman was Rosa 
Parks, a seamstress and the secretary of the NAACP from Montgomery, AL.
  Mr. Speaker, on that day Rosa Parks was not only tired from a hard 
day at work, but also of the torment and persecution endured by Blacks 
of her day. Based solely on the color of her skin, she had encountered 
much discrimination throughout the years, and finally, on that day, 
decided she was fed up.
  We all know the story, but let me remind my colleagues. On that 
Thursday evening in December, Mrs. Parks decided that she would not 
give up her seat for a White man to sit down in the ``Colored'' 
section, and was consequently arrested for violating segregation laws.
  Ms. Parks' arrest marked the point of conception of the civil rights 
movement. What followed can be described as no less than monumental. 
The Black community of Montgomery, AL, decided to boycott the bus 
system--that by the way, relied heavily on their 75 percent ridership 
for revenue. Montgomery's Black community, led by a young Martin Luther 
King, Jr. who endorsed nonviolence as a means to achieve equality, 
chose to walk, carpool, or ride bicycles instead of riding the bus.
  Despite huge revenue losses, the Montgomery bus system refused to 
alter its segregation policies.
  Despite endless provocation from Whites, who often resorted to acts 
of violence and harassment, the Black community continued its boycott 
for over a year.
  Finally, approximately a year after Rosa Parks refused to give up her 
seat on the bus, on November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court declared 
Montgomery's bus segregation ordinance unconstitutional. Shortly 
thereafter, the Federal Interstate Commerce Commission banned 
segregation on all interstate trains and buses.
  Although there were many other subsequent laws and decrees that 
helped to desegregate America, Rosa Parks' courage was the incipient 
act that sparked the stand for equality across the Nation--culminating 
in the civil rights movement.
  It is for these reasons that I strongly support this resolution 
honoring Mrs. Parks' bravery. I thank my good friend, Representative 
John Conyers, for spearheading this noble effort and I urge my 
colleagues to support its passage.

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