[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 6, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E111-E112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CELEBRATING ROSA PARKS' 100TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 6, 2013

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my deepest 
appreciation for the life, legacy, and actions of Mrs. Rosa Parks on 
what would have been her 100th birthday.
  Our society today, is a far cry from the one into which Mrs. Parks 
was born. We are now living in a time that is a direct reflection of 
the efforts of the trailblazers who came before us.
  Trailblazers like Rosa Parks, Shirley Chisholm, Frederick Douglas, 
Martin Luther King, Barbara Jordan and Walter Fauntroy whose actions 
transformed history and paved the way for a brighter future for all of 
us. Remembering these remarkable trailblazers is just one way to 
demonstrate not only our appreciation for their efforts but also to 
ensure that we continue to move forward in society.
  While I believe that our fight is not over and that we must continue 
to address civil rights

[[Page E112]]

issues; I am still in awe of the progress that has been made as the 
result of decades of work, diligence, sweat and tears of our country's 
civil rights trailblazers.
  One century ago, today, Mrs. Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. As 
many of you already know, on December 1, 1955 Mrs. Parks refused to 
give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery city bus.
  At that time in our nation's history as an African American woman in 
Montgomery, Alabama Mrs. Parks was actually risking her life by sitting 
in a seat that was denied to her because of the color of her skin. 
Although she knew she risked being beaten, insulted, bullied, and 
jailed that did not stop her from sitting down in order to stand up 
against injustice.
  The arrest of Mrs. Parks led to the NAACP's boycott of the 
Montgomery, Alabama bus system. The boycott began on the first day of 
Mrs. Parks first court hearing on December 5, 1955, and did not end 
until December 20, 1956. It marks the first of many large-scale 
demonstrations against segregation.
  For 381 consecutive days, men, women, and children stood up against 
injustice. In lieu of taking the bus, in many instances they elected to 
walk for miles to work, school, or for errands. Just for a moment 
envision that amount of dedication and commitment it takes in the hot 
days of a Alabama summer to opt to walk rather than take the bus for 
over a year.
  Rose Parks by taking a seat was just the public spark needed to bring 
international attention to the civil rights movement and is in no small 
measure the genesis for the beginning of desegregation.
  Again, because of the fearless actions of women and men, like Rosa 
Parks, the face of leadership in our nations is now more diverse than 
at any other point in our nation's history.
  This change has been seen here within our own walls as well. Members 
of Congress are now a stew pot of races, ethnicities, cultures, sexual 
orientations, religions, and genders. This has only allowed us to have 
a diversity of perspective and has enabled us to better address the 
needs of our constituencies. Today, Congress in many ways reflects the 
America, what we represent.
  The actions of Rosa Parks and thousands of other proud Americans and 
their supporters fueled the civil rights movement that advanced the 
principles upon which our nation was built. As I have stated before, 
although, we have come a long way we still have a long way to go. As we 
honor the life and legacy of Rosa Parks. As we reflect upon those who 
lost their lives standing up against injustice. As we celebrate what 
was almost unimaginable in 1955, the second inauguration of our 
nation's first African American President. We must also look again at 
our democracy and how in a time when we are making so many steps 
forward there is still an attempt to limit the votes of Americans. 
Given the progress that we have made as a result of the civil rights 
movement it is still incumbent upon each of us to continue to fight for 
the rights of all Americans. Recently, there have been systematic 
attempts to limit the rights of Americans to vote. Last year we 
celebrated the 47th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, amid efforts 
by certain states to erode the right of Americans.
  Today, most Americans take the right to vote for granted. We assume, 
as citizens of this fine Nation, that we can register to vote if we are 
over 18. Most of us learned in school that discrimination based on 
race, creed or national origin has been barred by the Constitution 
since the end of the Civil War. We celebrate moments like today, Rosa 
Parks birthday, that stands as a reminder of our Nation's honored and 
sometimes troubled past. Yet, at the time Rosa Parks sat down on that 
bus, the right to vote did not exist in practice for most African 
Americans. And, until 1975, most American citizens who were not 
proficient in English faced significant obstacles to voting, because 
they could not understand the ballot.
  Even though the Indian Citizenship Act gave Native Americans the 
right to vote in 1924, state law determined who could actually vote, 
which effectively excluded many Native Americans from political 
participation for decades.
  Asian Americans and Asian immigrants also have suffered systematic 
exclusion from the political process and it has taken a series of 
reforms, including repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, and 
passage of amendments strengthening the Voting Rights Act three decades 
later, to fully extend the franchise to Asian Americans.
  It was with this history in mind that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 
was designed to make the right to vote a reality for all Americans. And 
the Voting Rights Act has made giant strides toward that goal. Without 
exaggeration, it has been one of the most effective civil rights laws 
passed by Congress.
  In 1964, there were only approximately 300 African-Americans in 
public office, including just three in Congress. Few, if any, black 
elected officials were elected anywhere in the South.
  The Voting Rights Act has opened the political process for many of 
the approximately 6,000 Latino public officials that have been elected 
and appointed nationwide, including 263 at the State or Federal level, 
27 of whom serve in Congress. And Native Americans, Asians and others 
who have historically encountered harsh barriers to full political 
participation also have benefited greatly.
  We must not forget the importance of protecting this hard-earned 
right. I believe that the courage that Mrs. Parks displayed throughout 
her life helped shaped the United States. I believe that the courage 
she showed that day, changed our society. I believe that it is our duty 
to honor the Constitution and to honor the civil rights of all those 
who stand upon our shores. Today, as we celebrate the life of Rosa 
Parks, we must continue to push forward in ensuring that all those who 
have a right to a voice in our society have one. The right to vote is 
the great equalifyer, one person--one vote. Yet, there are those who 
are attempting to impinge that right by requiring the use of Voter ID 
cards. Now these photo ID proposals have a forceful momentum that have 
not seen in years past, as part of broader legislative movements to 
limit access to the political process for disenfranchised groups at a 
level not seen since post-reconstruction era laws that implemented poll 
taxes and literacy tests. In just over the first two months of 2011, 
photo ID proposals were introduced in 32 states and passed out of one 
legislative chamber in twelve states. Lawmakers across the Nation have 
pinpointed photo ID as a top legislative priority. The Governor of 
Texas designated photo ID as a legislative emergency in order to allow 
it to be procedurally fast-tracked through the legislature, photo ID 
proposals were pre-filed before legislative sessions began in half a 
dozen states, and secretaries of state in a number of states have 
listed photo ID as a top priority. I was pleased when the Department of 
Justice took action to stop that flowed piece of legislation.
  Photo ID proposals have garnered significant momentum in more than a 
dozen states and opponents are having difficulty waging effective 
counterattacks to curb movement on these bills.
  The time is now to stand up to protect the rights of the 
disenfranchised, the elderly, the disabled, and college student access 
to the right to vote. Now is the time, to remember the courage of those 
who participated in the bus boycott, recall their willingness to walk 
in the hot southern sun for over a year to stand up for their belief is 
justice, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now is the time to truly 
honor the life of Rosa Parks, who by sitting down, stood up for 
justice. We must continue to move forward rather than backwards in this 
country. We must honor our past by standing up to protect every one's 
right to vote.
  Today I remember Mrs. Parks for her courage and for everything she 
has done to advance civil rights movement. And to remember that 
although much progress has been made there remains much more to 
accomplish.

                          ____________________