[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 142 (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN HONOR OF ROSA PARKS, ``MOTHER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT''

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 1, 2005

  Mr. COSTA.  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and memory of the 
civil rights icon Rosa Louise Parks. Almost half a century ago, Mrs. 
Parks' refusal to surrender her bus seat triggered the first organized 
actions in the civil rights movement. Because of her action that day, 
Mrs. Parks will always be remembered as the ``mother of the civil 
rights movement.''
  Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913. As a 
girl, she wrote, ``I had a very strong sense of what was fair.'' She 
led a life dedicated to improving civil rights and acted as an 
inspiration to many Americans.
  On December 1, 1955, Mrs. Parks sat in an unreserved section of a 
city bus. When asked to give up her seat for a white man she politely 
refused. It is a common misconception that Rosa Parks was unwilling to 
give up her seat because she was tired from a long day at work. As she 
told it, ``the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.''
  Mrs. Parks' act of civil disobedience is the popular inspiration that 
led to Martin Luther King Jr.'s decision to lead a bus boycott that 
lasted an amazing 381 days. On November 13, 1956, in an important 
victory for the civil rights movement, the Supreme Court outlawed 
segregation on buses. The civil rights movement would experience many 
important victories, but Rosa Parks will always be remembered as its 
catalyst.
  Mrs. Parks was a shy, soft spoken woman who was uncomfortable being 
revered as a symbol of the civil rights movement. She only hoped to 
inspire young people to achieve great things. However, in 1996 her 
place in U.S. history was cemented when she was awarded the nation's 
highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President 
Bill Clinton. Mrs. Parks passed away October 24th at the age of 92, at 
her home in Detroit.
  Rosa Parks will be remembered for her lasting contributions to 
society. Her legacy lives on in the continued struggle for civil rights 
around the world. She will be missed.

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