[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 27885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 8, 2005

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of H. Con. Res. 273, to recognize the courage, perseverance, 
and demand for justice displayed 50 years ago in the Montgomery bus 
boycott.
  On Thursday, December 1, 1955, Ms. Rosa Parks, who recently passed 
away at the age of 92 and whom this body has honored, was arrested for 
refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, 
Alabama, public bus. With fifteen year old Claudette Colvin arrested 
for the same infraction just a few months earlier in Montgomery, the 
NAACP and the Women's Political Council finally had the opportunity to 
shed light on their treatment as second-class citizens.
  Following discussions amongst civic and church leaders, including the 
Reverend Ralph Abernathy, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Jo Ann 
Robinson, who was the head of the Women's Political Council, and E.D. 
Nixon, who was the Montgomery official for the NAACP, the people of 
Montgomery decided to take a simple action that would end up crippling 
the city for almost a year. The Montgomery bus boycott, which began on 
Monday, December 5, 1955, called a nation's attention to a legacy of 
racism, inexplicable discrimination, and equal treatment under the law.
  Bringing Montgomery's segregated bus lines to their knees, boycotters 
did everything from organize a system of carpools to match black taxi 
cab rates to those of the city's now-empty buses. The crowded rush hour 
sidewalks served as a testament to that single act of courage and 
bravery which inspired the modem civil rights movement and went on to 
revolutionize our country.
  As the months passed on with Montgomery's buses continuing to receive 
few, if any, passengers, leaders of the bus boycott movement soon 
became targets of racist bigotry--Rev. Abernathy's and Rev. King's 
houses were firebombed, and boycotters were physically attacked. Yet 
their movement continued.
  It is this great will and determination that was rewarded, on 
November 13, 1956, when the United States Supreme Court upheld a 
Federal district court ruling declaring segregation on buses 
unconstitutional. These events laid the groundwork for future landmark 
achievements, such as the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. And 
fifty years later, we are still inspired and invigorated by the 
strength and determination of the people of Montgomery.
  Mr. Speaker, my constituents and the people of this great nation 
honor the ideals of justice and equality set forth by the Montgomery 
bus boycott every time we stand up for what is right. This is the 
legacy of that event, and the legacy we should continue to honor. As we 
look to the future, we should be inspired by their example and continue 
to fight for social justice and equality for all people. Just as the 
devoted boycotters did, we should all remain committed to erasing the 
inequities that still exist in our society and around the world. Mr. 
Speaker, I am proud to support this resolution.

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