[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 143 (Wednesday, November 2, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H9490-H9492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ROSA PARKS FEDERAL BUILDING
Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 1285) to designate the Federal building located at 333
Mt. Elliott Street in Detroit, Michigan, as the ``Rosa Parks Federal
Building''.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 1285
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF ROSA PARKS FEDERAL BUILDING.
The Federal building located at 333 Mt. Elliott Street in
Detroit, Michigan, shall be known and designated as the
``Rosa Parks Federal Building''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the Federal building
referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to
the ``Rosa Parks Federal Building''.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WILLIAM B. BRYANT ANNEX.
The annex, located on the 200 block of 3rd Street Northwest
in the District of Columbia, to the E. Barrett Prettyman
Federal Building and United States Courthouse located at
Constitution Avenue Northwest in the District of Columbia
shall be known and designated as the ``William B. Bryant
Annex''.
SEC. 4. REFERENCES.
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the annex referred to
in section 3 shall be deemed to be a reference to the
``William B. Bryant Annex''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent) and the gentlewoman from the District of
Columbia (Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent).
General Leave
Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 1285.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
S. 1285 honors two Americans by designating buildings in their honor.
This bill designates the Federal building located at 333 Mt. Elliott
Street, Detroit, Michigan, as the ``Rosa Parks Federal Building,'' and
the annex of the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Building and Courthouse
located in the District of Columbia as the ``William B. Bryant Annex.''
Last week, the House passed H.R. 2967, which would have named the
building in Detroit after Rosa Parks. We are back here today because
the Senate amended their version of this bill to include the
designation in honor of Judge William Bryant.
Rosa Parks has been eulogized and honored by many people who knew her
better than I, but I would like to take this opportunity to express my
condolences to those who knew her and praise her to those that will
hopefully follow her example.
Rosa Parks is well known for a simple, yet historic, act of defiance.
To paraphrase something the Mayor of Detroit said at a service in her
honor, ``She stood for what was right, by sitting down.'' This act
inspired further acts of civil disobedience and earned her the title of
the ``mother of the civil rights movement.''
Hers is an example that we should commend to our children and our
grandchildren, an example of fortitude and resolution to do what is
right, even when it meant great risk to her personal safety. She is
truly deserving of this honor we are bestowing today.
We are also here to honor Judge William B. Bryant, a Federal judge in
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Bryant was
the first African American to be named Chief Judge of the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia.
Though born in Alabama, William Bryant moved with his family to
Washington, D.C., at the age of 1 and made D.C. his home for the past
92 years. After serving in the United States Army and attending Howard
University, he began his legal career working in private practice and
as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Judge
Bryant was appointed to the United States District Court by President
Lyndon Baines Johnson and was later named Chief Judge. His appointment
to the bench was monumental during the civil rights movement, as
African Americans struggled for rights as full and equal citizens of
this Nation.
During the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks and Judge Bryant were
viewed as heroic icons by African Americans. Today, they are recognized
and remembered by people of all races for not only the effect they have
on the civil rights movement but also for their subsequent
accomplishments.
I believe this is a fitting honor to a woman whose actions helped
transform and improve our society and to a distinguished jurist who has
served our Nation for over 40 years.
I support this legislation, and I encourage my colleagues to do the
same.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank the gentleman for bringing forward this bill; and I rise in
strong support of S. 1285, a bill to designate the Federal building
located at 333 Mt. Elliott Street in Detroit, Michigan, as the ``Rosa
Parks Federal Building.'' This bill also contains a provision to name
the annex to the E. Barrett Prettyman courthouse here in the District
of Columbia in honor of Federal District Court Judge William B. Bryant.
Both are legendary African Americans, and the agreement that Federal
buildings should be named in their honor is both wide and deep.
I thank my good friend and colleague from Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick)
for her diligent leadership on the Rosa Parks Federal building
designation. I also want to thank my good friend of longstanding, the
senior Senator from Virginia, Senator John Warner, for tirelessly
working with me for more than 3 years to achieve this honor for Judge
Bryant. I am deeply grateful as well to Senate Judiciary Committee
ranking member Patrick Leahy, who also was particularly conscientious
in pressing for this honor for Judge Bryant.
I spoke last Wednesday, Mr. Speaker, concerning the events that led
Rosa Parks to challenge the daily humiliation of Montgomery, Alabama's
black residents who were required to pay their bus fare to the driver,
then get off and reenter through the rear door, and then relinquish
their seats and move to the back of the bus upon the demand of any
white passenger. Since then, Congress has broken with precedent and
voted to allow Rosa Parks to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, and
she did so just a few days ago, the first woman and only the second
African American who has been accorded this honor. In so doing, the
United States of America recognized the unique and extraordinary
contribution of Rosa Parks to her country. Her simple act of civil
disobedience in refusing to relinquish her seat on demand from a white
man on a segregated bus was the functional equivalent of a nonviolent
shot heard around the world.
Fifty years later, time may blur the enormous personal risk Rosa
Parks took on in America in 1955. During our country's tragic racial
history, black men had been lynched for less. Grievances like those of
African Americans after 400 years of slavery and humiliating
discrimination had been resolved by violent revolution throughout human
history.
Our country is enormously in Rosa Parks' debt because the revolution
that led to the end of government and legally sanctioned discrimination
began with a nonviolent revolutionary act, setting an example that
endured. So brave was her act in the South in 1955 that even those of
us who were young, in school, and had nothing to lose did not engage in
the first sit-ins until 5 years later. The act of one woman finally led
to the mass civil rights movement, the missing ingredient in the civil
rights struggle. This movement was Rosa Parks' special gift to her
people and to those who joined them, especially the residents of the
[[Page H9491]]
District of Columbia, who still feed from her inspiration to achieve
equality with other Americans, including equal voting rights in the
Congress of the United States.
In an era of peacock leaders who strut their stuff, her selfless
example is an especially important guide. In great humility, Rosa
Parks' gift was not the message that ``I am doing this to free you.''
Her message was far more direct: ``Free yourself.'' It is with
gratitude that we bring this bill forward today in that spirit.
The honor for Judge William Bryant has an unusual origin indeed. The
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia, Judge Hogan, for himself and all the members of the trial
court, visited my office to request that the annex under construction
for the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal building be named for a senior
U.S. judge, Judge William B. Bryant. Judge Bryant was unaware of the
desires and actions of his colleagues, who unanimously agreed to
request that the annex be named for the judge. It is rare that Congress
names a courthouse or an annex for a judge who has served in that court
and even more rare for a judge who is still sitting.
All who have been involved in this effort recognize and agree that
giving an honor to a sitting judge has been granted in the past but
only rarely and should be reserved only for the most extraordinary of
judges. Judge William Bryant is such a judge.
{time} 1600
I am particularly grateful to this House which early understood the
unique importance of Judge Bryant's contributions and unhesitatingly
passed this bill last session.
Judge Bryant's colleagues who know his work and his temperament best
have found a particularly appropriate way for the court, the bar, our
city, and our country to celebrate the life and accomplishments of a
truly great judge. I know Judge Bryant personally. I know his
reputation in this city and in the law, and I know that the request to
name the annex for Judge Bryant reflects deep respect for his unusually
distinguished life at the bar.
Judge Bryant began his career in private practice in the segregated
Washington of the 1940s and 1950s when African American lawyers were
barred from membership in the District of Columbia Bar Association and
even from using the bar law library. He established his legal
reputation as a partner of the legendary African American law firm,
Houston, Bryant & Gardner, and taught at Howard University Law School.
His reputation as an extraordinary trial lawyer led to his appointment
as the first African American Assistant United States Attorney for the
District of Columbia. He later rose to become the first African
American to serve as chief judge of the United States District Court,
whose members now ask that the annex be named for Judge Bryant.
For his representation of criminal defendants in private practice,
Judge Bryant was admired as one of the city's best and most respected
trial lawyers. Among his many notable cases is the landmark Mallory v.
United States, a 1957 Supreme Court decision where the Court ruled that
an arrested person must be promptly brought before a judicial officer.
Judge Bryant was born in Wetumpka, Alabama, but grew up in this city
and graduated from D.C. public schools, Howard University, and Howard
Law School where he was first in his class. After graduation, Judge
Bryant served as chief research assistant to Dr. Ralph Bunche when
Bunche worked with Gunnar Myrdal, the famous Swedish economist, in his
studies of African American racial issues. Judge Bryant served in the
United States Army during World War II and was honorably discharged as
a lieutenant colonel in 1947.
The judge, who is 94, took senior status in 1982. Chief Judge Thomas
Hogan wrote that Judge Bryant ``lost his beloved wife, Astaire, and now
lives alone with this court and the law as the center of his life.''
This unusual request from all the judges of the court gives this
designation great credibility. I am grateful to the judges of our U.S.
District Court here for the thoughtful proposal that honors a
Washingtonian and a lawyer of historic proportions. I very much
appreciate the many efforts of my friends in the Senate, especially
Senators Warner and Leahy, in helping me to get this bill through both
Houses. I especially appreciate the leadership of this House who went
to extraordinary lengths to make sure that this bill would be
accomplished.
The residents of this city and the court that Judge Bryant has served
so well, and members of the bar here, join me in gratitude for this
tribute. We are all especially pleased to see two notable African
Americans celebrated together in this House today in this special way.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I support S. 1285, a bill naming a federal
building in Detroit, Michigan after Rosa Parks and I join my colleagues
in paying tribute to Mrs. Parks's courage and high ideals. Rosa Parks's
simple act of refusing to get up from her seat to comply with an unjust
law inspired a movement that brought an end to state-mandated racial
segregation. Mrs. Parks was inspired to challenge government power by
her conviction that laws that treated African-Americans as second-class
citizens violated the natural rights all humans receive from their
creator--rights which no government can justly infringe.
Rosa Parks's use of peaceful means of civil disobedience to challenge
unjust laws stands as a shinning example of how peaceful means, such as
civil disobedience and boycotts, can overcome seemingly insurmountable
obstacles and advance the cause of liberty. The example of Rosa Parks
shows how an individual with the courage and conviction to stand alone
against injustice can make a difference by inspiring others to take a
stand. I hope all friends of freedom will draw inspiration from the
example of Rosa Parks.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1285, a
bill to designate a Federal building in Detroit, Michigan, as the
``Rosa Parks Federal Building'' and to designate the annex of the
Prettyman Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C., as
the ``William B. Bryant Annex''.
Rosa Parks is known as the ``mother of the civil rights movement''.
With one single act of defiance--when she refused to give up her seat
on the Cleveland Avenue bus in Montgomery, Alabama--she galvanized a
Nation and changed the course of history. On December 1, 1955, Mrs.
Parks was sitting in the middle row of the bus with three other black
riders. The bus driver demanded that all four give up their seats so
that a single white man could sit. Three of the riders complied. Mrs.
Parks remained seated.
It is important to keep in mind that what is often remembered as a
quiet act of civil disobedience took tremendous personal courage.
Blacks at that time had been arrested, and even beaten or killed, for
refusing to follow the orders of bus drivers. Rosa Parks was arrested,
jailed, and fined $14.
As Mrs. Parks herself has said in the years following that pivotal
moment, she hadn't planned on taking a stand that day. She hadn't
planned on becoming the face of the injustices of segregation. She had
simply had enough. She was tired of being treated like a second-class
citizen. She had had enough.
Mrs. Parks' act of courage sparked the civil rights movement. A
boycott of the public buses was organized for Monday, December 5, the
day of Mrs. Parks' trial. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., then a
young preacher who was only 26 years old, organized the boycott. The
boycott lasted 381 days, ending only after the Supreme Court outlawed
segregation on buses. It captured the attention of the Nation and
forced people to confront the inequalities that were then commonplace.
The civil rights movement ultimately led to the passage of the landmark
Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racial discrimination in public
accommodations, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Rosa Parks is an American icon. By refusing to give up her seat on
that Montgomery bus, she changed the course of history. This honor is
long overdue.
Mr. Speaker, Rosa Parks was 92 when she died. Her funeral was today.
I'm only sorry that we could not have passed this bill while Mrs. Parks
was still alive. Although she suffered from dementia in her later
years, I believe that she would have understood and appreciated such
recognition from the United States Congress.
The strength and presence of a Federal building perfectly captures
the character and personality of this icon of the civil rights
movement. It is fitting and just that her life and public
accomplishments are acknowledged with this designation.
Mr. Speaker, I also support the provision of this bill to designate
the annex to the Prettyman Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in
Washington, D.C., as the ``William B. Bryant Annex''. I thank the
Gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), Ranking
Democratic Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public
Buildings, and Emergency Management, for her steadfastness and support
for naming the annex for
[[Page H9492]]
Judge Bryant. In the last Congress, Ms. Norton was instrumental in
House consideration of H.R. 4294, a bill to name the annex for Judge
Bryant. Unfortunately, the Senate did not consider the bill. In this
Congress, Ms. Norton introduced H.R. 1015 to continue her effort to
honor this distinguished jurist.
Judge Bryant is 94 years old, and is legendary in District legal
circles. He practiced law in the 1940's and 1950's when the city was
segregated. He could not join the D.C. Bar Association or use its
facilities. Yet, he has achieved great stature as a trial lawyer and
enjoys an enviable reputation.
Judge Bryant is a lifelong D.C. resident who attended D.C. public
schools and Howard University Law School, where he graduated first in
his class. He began his legal career in private practice in the
District with the legendary African American law firm of Houston,
Bryant and Gardner. In 1965, he was nominated by President Johnson to
the federal bench and confirmed by the Senate later that year. Judge
Bryant is the first African American to hold the post of Chief Judge
for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
During his long, productive legal career Judge Bryant also served as
the first African American Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of
Columbia, and taught at Howard University Law School.
The judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
unanimously agreed to name the annex in honor of Judge Bryant and
approached Congresswoman Norton and Senator John Warner for their help.
For the past several years, Ms. Norton and Senator Warner have worked
to overcome Senate objections to naming the annex in honor of Judge
Bryant because he continues to serve in active, senior status.
It is an extraordinary testament to Rosa Parks that, even in her
death, her work is not done. The bill to honor her became the
unstoppable legislative vehicle to ensure that Judge Bryant, this
extraordinary African American jurist, be honored with this designation
while he is still living.
I strongly support S. 1285 and urge my colleagues to join me in
honoring these legendary American heroes.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the
proposed legislation ``To designate the Federal building located at 333
Mt. Elliott Street in Detroit, Michigan, as the `Rosa Parks Federal
Building'.''
More than 50 years ago, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded her
normal bus home and sat down in one of the ``colored'' aisles toward
the back of the bus. Soon, the bus began to fill, and Rosa was ordered
to vacate her seat to accommodate the white passengers. She simply but
stubbornly refused.
This peaceful act of protest sparked a citywide boycott of the bus
system by the African American community. Men, women and children of
Montgomery, Alabama refrained from riding the bus and instead either
walked, rode their bikes or carpooled to work. In an impressive show of
strength and courage, the boycott endured for over a year, and people
across the nation joined with those in Montgomery. After 381 days, the
City bus line finally relented and desegregated the buses.
Four days after the initial incident on the bus, a young man stood up
in front of a large audience, having just been appointed as the head of
the boycott: ``There comes a time,'' the man said, ``that people get
tired. We are here this evening to say to those who have mistreated us
for so long, that we are tired, tired of being segregated and
humiliated, tired of being kicked about by the brutal feet of
oppression.'' The name of that young man spurred to action by Rosa
Parks was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rosa was found guilty that very same day of breaking the city's
segregation law. It was over 50 years ago that Rosa Parks chose to
peacefully but willfully stand up--or rather sit down--against the
abhorrent laws that segregated this country. Let us honor and celebrate
what Rosa Louise Parks helped this country accomplish half a century
ago by urging for this federal building be named in her honor. But let
us also remember that her fight is not over. Let this building, the
``Rosa Parks Federal Building,'' stand as a pillar of remembrance for
this and future generations. Let this building always remind us of the
battle she fought for freedom and equality, and the battles still being
fought here and across the world today.
I support the proposed resolution for the foregoing reasons, and I
urge my colleagues to follow suit.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Foley). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1285.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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