[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 173 (Tuesday, December 1, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H8656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                    HONORING THE LIFE OF ROSA PARKS

  (Ms. HAHN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, 60 years ago today Rosa Parks was arrested for 
refusing to give up her bus seat to a White man. Her simple act of 
defiance and her quiet dignity in the face of daily injustice grabbed 
the attention of activists and launched the civil rights movement.
  In 2013, we unveiled a statue of Rosa Parks that stands just outside 
these doors in the U.S. Capitol Statuary Hall. This year I took my 11-
year-old granddaughter to Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, so 
that the next generation of young Americans can understand the role 
that she played in shaping the history of our country.
  I actually got the great honor of meeting Rosa Parks at an event once 
that my father held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital 
in Watts. What thrill it was to hold her hand as the audience sang ``We 
Shall Overcome.''
  It has been 60 years, but, unfortunately, we know that the 
discrimination Rosa Parks faced still faces minorities communities in 
this country today.
  On this anniversary, I hope we can look to her example for 
inspiration in the ongoing struggle for justice for every American.

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