[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 98 (Tuesday, June 6, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2747-H2748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING MOTHER ROSA PARKS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
Michigan (Ms. Tlaib) for 5 minutes.
[[Page H2748]]
Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, yesterday, I was honored to join Rosa
Parks' family, alongside Senator Gary Peters and local community
advocates, to rename the Grand River Post Office near her home in
Detroit the Rosa Louise McCauley Parks Post Office.
I am so proud to recognize the mother of the civil rights movement
and a beloved resident of our community in Detroit, Mother Rosa Parks.
It was truly a personal honor to partner with Mother Parks' family to
keep this freedom fighter's legacy alive in yet another powerful way.
I cannot wait for the child to walk in to see the name on the post
office and ask: ``Who was that?''
It was a privilege to lead this effort in Congress, with the support
of the Michigan delegation, to commemorate this incredible civil rights
leader.
As we know, on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to surrender her
seat on a Montgomery bus to a White passenger. Her refusal was not only
an act of courage and a protest against racial segregation and
oppression, Madam Speaker, it was an assertion that our Black neighbors
deserved human dignity.
Her act of defiance ignited the Montgomery bus boycott, a pivotal
moment in the civil rights movement.
In 1957, Mother Parks left Montgomery, Alabama, to move to the most
beautiful, Blackest city in the country, the city of Detroit. She lived
there for nearly 50 years and served our community tirelessly as a
congressional staff member for the late Congressman John Conyers.
Despite efforts that we are seeing today around the Nation of those
who want to erase history leaders like Mother Rosa Parks, Dr. King,
Malcolm X, and so many others, we will continue to uplift those who
bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice.
Today and always, Madam Speaker, we stand on the shoulders of Mother
Parks and the countless others who fought for equality and justice for
all. I am inspired every single day by her bravery and strength. Her
legacy serves as a powerful reminder to every single one of us that,
with courage and determination, there is power to change the course of
our history.
May Mother Parks always remind us that we cannot remain silent when
we encounter injustice, discrimination, or racism, but that we must
always take a stand and speak out, even when our voice shakes, to
continue to build on her most beautiful movement to build a more
equitable, loving, and just world.
Madam Speaker, we know that our struggle against racism and white
supremacy is a lifelong pursuit. As Mother Parks wrote: ``Freedom
fighters never retire.'' As her memory continues to guide us, may her
legacy never die.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to honor Mother Parks alongside
the McCauley and Parks families and hope that the symbol of our
appreciation is felt by those who loved her.
{time} 1030
American Indian Health and Family Services
Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I was blessed to have grown up in southwest
Detroit. This is where over 20 different ethnicities live, and every
neighborhood has their own flavor in how they show up for each other.
This is why I am so grateful that I secured $1.5 million in funding
for American Indian Health and Family Services as they expand their
healthcare and mental health services to our families.
This healthcare center is tucked in a residential street between
homes where people can walk to get the services that they need.
Expanding their efforts will change lives in a meaningful way, and I
am so proud to have been part of that.
Auto Insurance Discrimination
Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, auto insurance discrimination continues to
keep our residents in a cycle of poverty. Your education level, your
ZIP code, and marital status doesn't determine your driving ability and
neither does your credit score. Yet our neighbors, especially in
Detroit, regularly face higher insurance rates--up to $5,000 per month
in some cases.
Someone with a perfect driving record and poor credit can pay up to
two or three times more than those with a higher credit score, even
with a driving under the influence violation.
We must stop these predatory and discriminatory practices by auto
insurance companies.
I am so grateful to partner with Congresswoman Watson Coleman and
Congressman Takano in introducing the Prohibiting Auto Insurance
Discrimination Act. This is how we can push back against corporate
greed and those that use proxies to discriminate.
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