[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 198 (Friday, December 1, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H6054-H6055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF ROSA PARKS

  (Ms. SEWELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SEWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call on all of my 
colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act.
  Today, December 1, Americans across the Nation are celebrating the 
legacy of Rosa Parks. It was on December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks was 
arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a 
city bus. This simple but bold act of resistance to Jim Crow 
segregation laws inspired the historic Montgomery bus boycott.
  For 481 days, spurred by Rosa Parks' courage, thousands of African 
Americans peacefully protested the Montgomery City Bus System until the 
United States court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that the segregation 
ordinances were unconstitutional.
  Rosa Parks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1966, the 
Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, and was the first woman to ever lie 
in state at the U.S. Capitol rotunda.
  In addition, many States, including Ohio, California, Missouri, and 
Oregon already observe Rosa Parks Day at the State level. Her legacy 
continues to inspire new generations of Americans to advance justice 
and equality.
  Madam Speaker, now is the time to pass this legislation and to 
declare December 1 as a Federal holiday, as Rosa Parks Day.

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