[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 135 (Wednesday, September 12, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 44--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
  A COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP SHOULD BE ISSUED HONORING ROSA LOUISE 
                             McCAULEY PARKS

  Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kerry, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
Alexander, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Levin, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Lieberman, 
Mr. Reid, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Dodd, Ms. 
Landrieu, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Brown, Mr. Voinovich, Ms. 
Mikulski, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs:

                            S. Con. Res. 44

       Whereas Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in 
     Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913, and died on October 
     25, 2005;
       Whereas Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights 
     activist and seamstress whom Congress dubbed the ``Mother of 
     the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement'';
       Whereas Rosa Parks refused on December 1, 1955, to obey bus 
     driver James Blake's demand that she relinquish her seat to a 
     white man and her subsequent arrest and trial for this act of 
     civil disobedience triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one 
     of the largest and most successful mass movements against 
     racial segregation in history, and launched Martin Luther 
     King, Jr., one of the organizers of the boycott, to the 
     forefront of the civil rights movement;
       Whereas Rosa Parks's role in American history earned her an 
     iconic status in American culture, and her actions have left 
     an enduring legacy for civil rights movements around the 
     world;
       Whereas through her role in sparking the boycott, Rosa 
     Parks played an important part in internationalizing the 
     awareness of the plight of African Americans and the civil 
     rights struggle; and
       Whereas Rosa Parks epitomized the struggle of everyday 
     people trying to make a difference, as she took a stand 
     against injustice and inequality: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued by the 
     United States Postal Service honoring Rosa Louise McCauley 
     Parks;
       (2) the provision requiring that an honoree must have died 
     at least 5 years before this honor can be bestowed upon them, 
     excepting Presidents of the United States, should be waived; 
     and
       (3) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend 
     to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.

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