[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 137 (Tuesday, October 25, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ON THE PASSING OF ROSA PARKS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 25, 2005

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and memory of 
the civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, who passed away on October 24, 
2005, at the age of 92. Rosa Parks is one of our country's premier 
civil rights advocates, who worked in the Montgomery, Alabama office of 
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and is 
best known for refusing to relinquish her bus seat to a white man in 
December 1955.
  Her quiet defiance lead to her arrest and sparked the movement that 
inspired the Civil Rights Act which banned racial discrimination in 
public accommodations, ending legal segregation in America. Her 
historic act of courage showed that it was long past time to roll back 
the Jim Crow era discrimination laws.
  After taking her public stand for civil rights and the ensuing 
Montgomery bus boycott, Mrs. Parks was unable to obtain work in 
Alabama. In the midst of threats and harassment, she and her husband, 
Raymond Parks, moved to Detroit, MI in 1957. Mrs. Parks worked as an 
aide in Rep. John Conyers' Detroit office from 1965 until retiring 
September 30, 1988.
  Upon her retirement, Mrs. Parks said she sought to dedicate more time 
to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, founded 
in 1987. The Institute is committed to developing leadership among 
Detroit's young people and initiating them into the struggle for civil 
rights. Mrs. Parks continued to be a leader within her community and a 
symbol of freedom for all Americans up to her death.
  Mr. Speaker, Rosa Parks' lifetime work and fight for the civil rights 
for African-Americans has not gone unnoticed in the last decade. Mrs. 
Parks was awarded the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom by 
President Bill Clinton and the Congressional Gold Medal. Rosa Parks not 
only stood up for herself but for generations of African-Americans. 
Mrs. Parks will and shall forever remain an inspiration to those who 
are fighting for freedom and her legacy will remain iconic for the 
civil rights movement.

                          ____________________