[House Report 109-193]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 109-193
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RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROSA LOUISE PARKS' REFUSAL TO GIVE
UP HER SEAT ON THE BUS AND THE SUBSEQUENT DESEGREGATION OF AMERICAN
SOCIETY
_______
July 27, 2005.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Sensenbrenner, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Con. Res. 208]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 208) recognizing the 50th
anniversary of Rosa Louise Parks' refusal to give up her seat
on the bus and the subsequent desegregation of American
society, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
without amendment and recommend that the concurrent resolution
be agreed to.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of H. Con. Res. 208 is to recognize the 50th
anniversary of Rosa Louise Parks' refusal to give up her seat
on the bus and the subsequent desegregation of American
society.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
Fifty years ago this coming December, Rosa Louise Parks
through one act of defiance inspired a town, a movement, and a
nation to hold true to the ideals and principles upon which our
nation was founded. Her single act is considered by many to be
the beginning of the civil rights movement.\1\
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\1\Rita Dove, The Torchbearer, Time Magazine, Volume 153, June 14,
1999.
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On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat
in the ``colored section'' of a bus to a white man in the town
of Montgomery, Alabama.\2\ Her arrest led to the 381-day
Montgomery Bus Boycott, legal challenges to the State of
Alabama's and the City of Montgomery's segregation laws
relating to public transportation systems, and subsequently to
the desegregation of Montgomery, Alabama.\3\ The Supreme Court
case affirming the unconstitutionality of Montgomery's
segregation laws led to other landmark civil rights cases, such
as U.S. v. City of Jackson, Mississippi.\4\
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\2\Id.
\3\Gayle v. Browder, 352 U.S. 903 (1956).
\4\318 F. 2d 1, (5th Cir. 1963).
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Since that day, Rosa Parks has continued to work to
eliminate all forms of discrimination, ensuring that all
Americans are afforded equal protection under all laws. She
serves as an inspiration and as a reminder to all Americans of
what the protections afforded by the Constitution mean. Through
her act of defiance, Rosa Parks reminded all Americans that one
person can make a difference. Her action and the civil rights
movement it helped spawn, have expanded the promise of equality
to our Constitution guarantees to every American.
HEARINGS
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H. Con.
Res. 208.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
On July 27, 2005, the Committee met in open session and
ordered favorably reported the concurrent resolution without an
amendment by voice vote, a quorum being present.
VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee notes that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee consideration of H.
Con. Res. 208.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
In compliance with clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee believes that
the concurrent resolution will have no cost for the current
fiscal year 2005, and that there will be no cost incurred in
carrying out H. Con. Res. 208 for the next five fiscal years.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
purpose of H. Con. Res. 208 is to recognize the 50th
anniversary of Rosa Louise Parks' refusal to give up her seat
on the bus and the subsequent desegregation of American
society.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives does not apply as this is a concurrent
resolution.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
The first preambular clause provides that most historians
consider December 1, 1955, to mark the beginning of the civil
rights movement;
The second preambular clause provides that December 1,
1955, is the date that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat
in the ``colored section'' of the bus to a white man;
The third preambular clause provides that Rosa Parks was
born on February 4, 1913, as Rosa Louise McCauley to James and
Leona McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama;
The fourth preambular clause provides that Rosa Louise
Parks was educated in Pine Level, Alabama, until the age of 11,
when she enrolled in Montgomery Industrial School for Girls and
then the Alabama State Teachers College's High School;
The fifth preambular clause provides that on December 18,
1932, Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks and they
settled in Montgomery, Alabama;
The sixth preambular clause provides that both Raymond and
Rosa Parks worked in the Montgomery, Alabama branch of the
NAACP, where Rosa served as a secretary and youth leader and
Raymond as an active member;
The seventh preambular clause provides that on December 1,
1955, Rosa Louise Parks was arrested for refusing to give up
her seat in the ``colored'' section of the bus to a white man
on the orders of the bus driver because the ``white'' section
was full;
The eighth preambular clause provides that Rosa Louise
Parks' arrest led African Americans and others to boycott the
Montgomery city bus line until they were desegregated;
The ninth preambular clause provides that the 381-day
Montgomery bus boycott encouraged others across the nation to
organize and protest equal rights;
The tenth preambular clause provides that the civil
disobedience displayed by Rosa Louise Parks and others resulted
in legal action challenging Montgomery, Alabama's segregated
public transportation system, which led to the November 13,
1956 Supreme Court decision in Gayle v. Browder that affirmed a
district court ruling that Montgomery's segregation laws denied
African Americans of equal protection and thus were
unconstitutional;
The eleventh preambular clause provides that in the years
following the bus boycott Rosa Louise Parks moved to Detroit,
Michigan and continued to advance the civil rights movement,
including working in the office of Congressman John Conyers
from 1965 to 1988 and establishing the Rosa and Raymond Parks
Institute for Self Development, a 501(c)(3) non-for-profit
organization, in 1987;
The twelfth preambular clause provides that Rosa Louise
Parks has been commended for her work in the civil rights
movement, garnering recognition such as the NAACP's Springarn
Medal in 1979, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, the
Nonviolent Peace Prize in 1980, the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 1996, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999;
The thirteenth preambular clause provides that 2005 is the
50th anniversary of Rosa Louise Parks' refusal to give up her
seat on the bus and an occasion to recognize her courage,
dignity, and determination as she confronted injustice and
inequality.
The resolve clause expresses the sense of the House of
Representatives that it:
(1) recognize and celebrate the 50th anniversary of
Rosa Louise Parks' refusal to give up her seat on the
bus and the subsequent desegregation of American
society;
(2) encourage the people across the Nation to
recognize and celebrate this anniversary and the
subsequent legal victories that sought to eradicate
segregation in all of American society;
(3) endeavor to work with the same courage, dignity,
and determination exemplified by Rosa Louise Parks to
address modern day injustice.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee notes H. Con. Res.
208 makes no changes to existing law.