[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 145 (Friday, November 4, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2278-E2279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AUTHORIZING THE REMAINS OF ROSA PARKS TO LIE IN HONOR IN THE ROTUNDA OF 
                              THE CAPITOL

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 28, 2005

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the 
opportunity to recognize

[[Page E2279]]

and honor the life and legacy of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, who 
passed away recently at the age of 92.
  Ms. Parks was a daughter, a wife, a mother, a seamstress, who, like 
all of us, was trying to make a good life for herself and her family. 
On December 1, 1955, Ms. Parks refused to relinquish her seat to a 
white man in a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and this simple 
and courageous action changed the course of American history. Her 
strength and willingness to take a stand for her rights and those of 
others sparked the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott and paved 
the way for the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act banning racial 
discrimination in public facilities. Ms. Parks' act of courage and 
bravery inspired the modern civil rights movement that went on to 
revolutionize our country.
  Her steadfast faith in justice and equality, and the power of an 
individual to initiate change, has served as inspiration and 
encouragement for equal rights movements the world over. Millions of 
people with disabilities, and those who are discriminated against 
around the world, have looked to Ms. Parks' leadership in their claims 
for equality in the face of injustice. My constituents, and indeed this 
entire country, are grateful for her strength and courage. We as a 
country have been made better by the movement Ms. Parks ignited.
  Mr. Speaker, in remembering her greatness, her dignity, and her 
legacy, Members of this House also recently made an historic vote. When 
this House voted to allow Rosa Parks to lay in honor in the Capitol 
Rotunda, it marked one of the few occasions a citizen who did not hold 
public office, and the first time a woman, has been recognized in this 
way. With that vote, we commemorated more than the great civil rights 
movement that her act initiated. In bestowing this honor upon Ms. 
Parks, we recognized that one person, one individual citizen, can have 
an impact, and can change lives.
  Rosa Parks' legacy is one that will lead us in continuing the fight 
for social justice and the struggle for equality for all people. We 
must all remain committed to fighting the inequities that remain in our 
country and to championing fundamental rights for all whether they are 
voting rights, or a commitment to ending poverty in America. This is 
the true legacy of Rosa Parks which will live for years and decades to 
come.

                          ____________________