Tribute to Rosa Parks

TRIBUTE TO ROSA PARKS -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 27, 2005)

* Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address this chamber in honor of a civil rights hero, Rosa Parks. Mrs. Parks passed away on Monday evening but her legacy will continue to inspire us all. Her story is not just a civil rights story it is an American story. I am pleased to honor her here today and as a cosponsor of legislation that recognizes her courageous contributions to our nation.

* On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Mrs. Parks was riding the bus home from work. On that December evening Rosa Parks was asked, along with other African-Americans, to give up her seat to a white passenger. Mrs. Parks was the only one that refused to do so and she was subsequently arrested and fined. Her actions that day put the civil rights movement into motion and changed the direction of our nation. Her arrest inspired a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. to organize a boycott of the city's buses. The 381 day boycott eventually lead to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Montgomery ordinance and outlawed racial segregation on public transportation.

* Rosa Parks was a humble woman who never wanted recognition, only equality. She continued to fight for equality through her local NAACP chapter. Her mother always told her to take advantage of opportunities no matter how few they are. She heeded that advice and seized opportunities and also provided a multitude of opportunities for others. Mrs. Parks will be remembered not only for her actions but for her courage. She did what so many others yearned to do. Her story catapulted the civil rights movement to the national stage and inspired many others to join the fight to end segregation.

* Later in her life, Rosa Parks co-founded an organization for young people, the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute, which enables youth to pursue educational opportunities, registers them to vote, and works toward racial peace. Mrs. Parks also hosted a special program organized through the Rosa and Rymond Parks Institute called Pathways to Freedom. This student program gives tours across the country that follows the Underground Railroad and highlights the events that spearheaded the civil rights movement. In 1996, President Clinton honored Rosa Parks with the presidential Medal of Freedom and in 1999, she received the Congressional Gold Medal.

* Although parts of our history are marred with inequality, discrimination, and hate, it is also filled with individual courage, perseverance, and hope. We must learn from it so that we can continue to progress as a nation. We must never forget our history and we must never forget Rosa Parks.

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