[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24849]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         IN HONOR OF ROSA PARKS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 2, 2005

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the legendary 
Rosa Parks, who passed away last week. I had the great honor of meeting 
Rosa Parks several times throughout her life. The first time was in the 
late seventies when she was a guest speaker at Monterey Peninsula 
College in my district. I was also on hand when she received the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 and the Congressional Gold Medal 
in 1999.
  Each time I saw Rosa Parks, I was again impressed that a woman of 
such slight stature started such a large scale movement for civil 
justice. Rosa Parks' decision not to give up her bus seat to a white 
man during the time of segregation was a courageous act, simple and 
without violence. Rosa Parks did not yell, swear or wave her hands 
around dramatically to get the Nation's attention. In fact, she did not 
even move. Today, the consequences of her choice can be seen throughout 
our society. I continue to believe that a more just society will not be 
achieved by water hoses, tear gas, night sticks and hostility, but 
through peaceful means including compromise and fairness.
  Fifty years later, Rosa Parks' actions don't seem radical or risky, 
but when you are the first one to take a stand, it is lonely. Indeed, 
Rosa Parks' death has given us the opportunity not just to remember her 
life and her actions, but also to remember the actions all of those who 
have stood up in the face of injustice.
  My mother was one of these people, like Rosa Parks. Though she died 
when I was a young adult, my father often told me of a bus ride my 
mother took in New Orleans in the mid 40s. My sister and I were young 
children at the time, and we all used the bus system to get around the 
city. Buses in New Orleans were segregated at that time, but during one 
ride my mother decided to seat us in the ``colored'' section, although 
there was room in the ``white'' section of the bus. When the bus driver 
saw what my mother had done, he told her that she and her children had 
to move to the white section. My mother refused, so the driver told her 
to get off the bus. Rather than change our seats, she shepherded my 
sister and me off the bus.
  I had a chance to share this story with Rosa Parks when I finally met 
her and she enjoyed hearing about my mother's actions. Though my family 
did not live in a segregated state, both my parents realized they still 
had a duty to combat prejudice.
  As a member of Congress, I have been honored to visit the heartland 
of the civil rights movement with fellow colleague and civil rights 
champion, Representative John Lewis. During a trip with the Faith and 
Politics Institute, we visited the Voting Rights Museum in Birmingham, 
AL, the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, AL, and reenacted the march 
across the Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL. I cannot fully express how much 
I gained from visiting these sites with some of the original 
participants in the civil rights movement. Hearing about the pain and 
suffering they endured throughout those times was tempered by the joy 
we felt in our mutual support for a just cause.
  I was honored to join my colleagues by attending Rosa Parks' memorial 
service and supporting the unprecedented resolution that allowed her 
body to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. Rosa Parks is one person 
who made a difference and whose actions will forever call on all of us 
to stand up--or remain seated--for civil justice.

                          ____________________