[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 138 (Wednesday, October 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11911-S11913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN MEMORY OF ROSA L. PARKS

  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of the 
passing of a great American, Mrs. Rosa L. Parks. Mrs. Parks was a woman 
of dignity, spirit and conviction, and throughout her life, she 
demonstrated immense courage in her quest to achieve equality for all 
Americans.
  On December 1, 1955, Mrs. Parks made a decision that altered the 
course of American history. When asked by the driver of a Montgomery, 
AL, bus to give up her seat to a white man, Mrs. Parks refused. She 
was, she later stated, ``tired of giving in.'' By refusing to give in 
any longer, Mrs. Parks took a stance that required uncommon levels of 
courage and principle. With this single act, Mrs. Parks effectively 
kicked-off the modern civil rights movement and changed America 
forever.
  In response to Mrs. Parks' refusal to leave her seat and her 
subsequent arrest, the African-American community in Montgomery, led by 
the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., organized the Montgomery Bus 
Boycott. For 381 days, members of the African-American community stood 
in solidarity with Mrs. Parks, refusing to utilize the bus system until 
the law legalizing segregation in public buses was lifted. Ultimately, 
Mrs. Parks took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where laws 
permitting segregated bus service were deemed unconstitutional. Because 
of Mrs. Parks, no African-American would ever be forced to move to the 
back of the bus again.
  In addition to the Supreme Court decision, Mrs. Parks' actions, and 
the boycott that followed her arrest, injected a tremendous amount of 
energy into the Civil Rights Movement. Her actions helped make 
Americans all over the country aware of the extensive injustices 
African Americans were forced to endure. A catalyst for similar 
protests throughout our Nation, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus 
boycott served as a model for the non-violent protests that were 
central to the civil rights movement and contributed heavily to its 
ultimate success.
  Mrs. Parks' commitment to equality for all Americans did not begin, 
or end, on the bus that day in 1955. After marrying Mr. Raymond Parks, 
who was also active in civil rights causes, she became a member of the 
Voters' League. In December 1943, Mrs. Parks became a secretary for the 
Montgomery branch of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People. Later in life, Mrs. Parks founded the Rosa and Raymond 
Parks Institute for Self Development. Created in honor of her husband, 
this institute informs younger Americans of their history, running 
``Pathway to Freedom'' bus tours that travel to important civil rights 
and Underground Railroad sites across the country.
  Mr. President, our Nation has lost a great daughter and an American 
icon with the passing of Mrs. Rosa Parks. My deepest sympathies go out 
to her family, friends, and all who were fortunate enough to know and 
love this wonderful woman. While America will surely miss her, the 
legacy of Rosa Parks, who changed the face of our Nation and inspired 
generations of activism, will live on for years to come.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to the inspired life 
of an American icon, Rosa Parks, who died on Monday, October 24, 2005 
in Detroit, MI, at the age of 92.
  Rosa Parks is often called the ``Mother of the Civil Rights 
Movement'' because of her courage in refusing to give up her seat in 
the black section of a Montgomery, AL, bus to a white man. Her refusal 
to tolerate racial prejudice paved the way for the civil rights gains 
that followed.
  On December 1, 1955, Parks was a tired seamstress on her way home 
from work, sitting at the front of the section reserved for black bus 
riders. When the bus started to fill up, Parks refused to give up her 
seat after the bus driver demanded she move despite the fact that three 
fellow black people moved from their seats.
  Parks was arrested and fined $14.00 for disorderly conduct and 
violating a city ordinance. Parks' family was harassed after the bus 
incident and she was fired from her job as a seamstress.
  To protest Parks' arrest and bus segregation, the African American 
community formed the Montgomery Improvement Association, headed by the

[[Page S11912]]

young minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr. The group organized a successful 381-day boycott of the bus 
system during which time African Americans in Montgomery walked, took 
taxicabs and formed carpools. The boycott took quite a toll on the 
finances of the bus system and provided a model for successful 
nonviolent resistance against racism in the U.S.
  The boycott ended on November 13, 1956, after the U.S. Supreme Court 
upheld a lower court ruling that Montgomery's segregated bus system was 
unconstitutional. However, it wasn't until the 1964 Civil Rights Act 
that all public places in the U.S. were desegregated.
  Of her refusal to move, Parks said, ``I only knew that, as I was 
being arrested, that it was the very last time that I would ever ride 
in humiliation of this kind.''
  Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, AL, on February 
4, 1913, to James McCauley, a carpenter, and Leona Edwards McCauley, a 
teacher. In 1932, at the age of 20, she married Raymond Parks, a 
barber, and they remained married until his death in 1977. She attended 
Alabama State College, worked as a seamstress and housekeeper, and was 
active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
People, NAACP, and the Montgomery Voters League to register and empower 
black voters. In 1943 she was elected Secretary of the Montgomery 
Chapter of the NAACP.
  In 1957 she and her husband moved to Detroit, MI, where they remained 
active in the NAACP and the Southern Christian, Leadership Conference, 
SCLC. In 1965, she went to work for Congressman John Conyers, Jr., a 
civil rights leader, managing his Detroit office.
  In 1987, in honor of her husband, she founded the Rosa and Raymond 
Parks Institute for Self-Development in order to motivate youth to 
reach their full potential through the philosophy of ``Quiet 
Strength.''
  Parks remained active into her 80s, speaking to civil rights groups 
and accepting awards, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolent 
Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional 
Gold Medal.
  I had the honor and privilege of meeting this incredible woman in the 
1990s. She was dignified, brave and an inspiration to me and 
generations of Americans who care about equality, freedom and human 
dignity. Parks said it best in the following statement: ``To this day I 
believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we 
can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy 
freedom.''
  Rosa Parks showed us that one person can change history and make a 
difference by taking a principled stand against injustice. Her legacy 
also teaches us that we must fight against continued inequality in 
America and around the world. We must never give up.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, the passing of Rosa Parks is an important 
occasion for us to remember her life and understand in a deeper way how 
history changes America. While we grieve the loss for her family, every 
American should be grateful that someone like her lived among us.
  As we look at the challenges and injustices of the world around us, 
we often ask the question: how can we change the world? I think we 
often look in the wrong place for change. We look to big government, 
big business, big entertainment or big publishing to bring about 
change. But when we look at history, almost every big change started 
small.
  The arrival of a few dozen Pilgrims on the North American continent 
was not newsworthy in 1620. I doubt that the battles of Lexington and 
Concord made the London Times in April of 1775. The arrival of Dred 
Scott at Ft. Snelling in the free territory of Minnesota was not a big 
local event. But all three were part of something historically big that 
changed the world and our lives dramatically.
  The Pilgrims created a fabulously idealistic vision of a new form of 
society which attempted to rise above corruption and create a ``shining 
city on a hill.'' The farmers and townspeople of eastern Massachusetts 
challenged the world's great superpower from behind stone walls and 
groves of oak trees. Dred Scott would stand before the United States 
Supreme Court, just down the hall from where we stand today and assert 
that because he had lived in free territory he was not property, but a 
person entitled under God--with unalienable rights. Though he lost his 
case, he galvanized the Northern states to fight a civil war for a 
Union based on freedom.
  On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks ``sat down'' for her principles in 
Montgomery, AL. She was arrested, tried, convicted, and assessed a fine 
of $14 and $3 in court costs. Her actions precipitated the Montgomery 
bus boycott that lasted more than a year. That event brought young Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. to national prominence. As someone has said, if 
it were not for Rosa Parks, we might never have heard of Dr. King.
  She stood as an example then and she does today. Perhaps we are too 
quick to see an injustice and run to the Courthouse or the Statehouse 
or the TV station. The wisdom of our Founders was that a single person 
armed with the truth is a majority.
  Legislation we passed in the Congress has been crucial: the Civil 
Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and a series of more measures right 
into our own decade. Obviously, vigorous enforcement of those statutes 
is essential. But if citizens push their own responsibility for social 
justice off on government, we will not have the change we seek.
  We need to speak up for equality when we hear a racially oriented 
joke. We need to challenge the status quo and bring up the subtle forms 
of racism that stereotype or demean or set low expectations for people. 
We need to open our mouths to challenge the phobias, misconceptions and 
prejudices that block the progress of people based on race, gender, 
age, creed or disability.
  The Rosa Parks history reminds me of President Lincoln's reported 
remark when he met Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin: 
``So this is the little woman who started this big war.''
  In America, there are no ``ordinary people.'' Every one of us has the 
power to bend history in the little circle of people around us, and we 
never know when one act of principle will commence a movement of 
historical significance.
  On the steps of the Alabama State Capitol building, not far from Rosa 
Parks' bus stop, Dr. King gave a speech in 1965. It summed up what Rosa 
Parks was all about, and what we each one of us ``ordinary Americans'' 
should be about. He said:

       Let us therefore continue our triumphal march to the 
     realization of the American dream . . . for all of us today, 
     the battle is in our hands. The road ahead is not altogether 
     a smooth one. There are no broad highways that lead us easily 
     and inevitably to quick solutions. We are still in for a 
     season of suffering How long? Not long. Because no lie can 
     live forever . . . our God is marching on.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise to honor the life of Rosa Parks, a 
true American hero.
  I was proud to be a cosponsor of S. Res. 287, introduced by my 
colleagues, Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow and passed unanimously 
last night, which pays tribute to Mrs. Parks' accomplishments and 
expresses the Senate's condolences on the occasion of her passing.
  When I heard of Mrs. Parks' death late Monday night, I was reminded 
that each of us has the ability to change the course of this country, 
to shape our shared destiny, and to bring us closer to being the Nation 
we aspire to be. Rosa Parks' role in our America in progress can not be 
overstated.
  Her single act of defiance drew international attention. More 
importantly, her action set in motion the modern civil rights movement 
and eventually led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  Almost 50 years ago, in Montgomery, AL, Mrs. Parks directly 
confronted Jim Crow, when she refused to give up her seat to a white 
passenger riding on the city's bus.
  At the time, Mrs. Parks was working as a seamstress for the 
Montgomery Fair Department Store. And she had been working to help 
build a better America long before her famous act of courage on that 
bus.

[[Page S11913]]

  She had been actively involved in the local chapter of the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, serving as an 
officer.
  She had assisted the NAACP in voter registration drives and attended 
organizing trainings at the Higlander Folk Center, an educational 
center for workers' rights and racial equality in Tennessee.
  Years later, when recalling her actions and her subsequent arrest, 
Mrs. Park had this to say:

       At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into 
     this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing 
     that made it significant was that the masses of the people 
     joined in.

  However, that one day catapulted her to a leadership role in the 
civil rights movement and began the great 381 day Montgomery boycott of 
the bus system by African Americans and others dedicated to equal 
rights.
  A young 26-year old Baptist minister, Reverend Martin Luther King 
Jr., organized the boycott.
  Throughout her life, Rosa Parks remained a committed civil rights 
activist.
  In the 1980s she worked in the anti-apartheid movement, and opened a 
career counseling center for black youth in Detroit with her husband.
  She served the United States as an aide to U.S. Congressman John 
Conyers, a great civil rights leader in his own right, for many years.
  In the last years of her life, Mrs. Parks was recognized for her role 
in our country's history.
  She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to civilians 
making an outstanding contribution to American life in 1996. In 
addition, President Clinton presented Mrs. Parks with the Congressional 
Gold Medal, the Nation's highest civilian honor, in 1999.
  Despite the international attention and acclaim she received and the 
many lectures and addresses she gave as a public figure, Mrs. Parks has 
been described as quiet and reserved by her friends, co-workers and 
those who knew her best.
  When she spoke, she spoke with a purpose.
  She was indeed the mother of the civil rights movement, and her 
passing marks the end of an era that changed the landscape of America.
  Today, I honor the courage and wisdom of Mrs. Parks.
  I thank her for inspiring countless generations to dream of an 
America, and a world, that respects and includes all of its citizens.

                          ____________________