[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.

                                  
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