Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott.

Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for yielding. Let me thank my colleague from the State of Alabama (Mr. Rogers) for introducing this resolution and for his comments on the floor today. And let me thank the leadership for bringing the resolution to the floor in such a timely and expeditious fashion.

We have just finished a month-long commemorative period around Rosa Parks. Mr. Speaker, we started with the events after her death and we, in effect, culminate, at least the Congress's part of this culmination today with this resolution. And between last week, the President signed a resolution that will allow Rosa Parks to take her rightful place in Statuary Hall. And as we end this commemorative period, I simply want to make a couple of observations about what it is that we honor. The first is that we honor a community today.

The countless anonymous number of African Americans who lived in Montgomery in 1955 included my mother and grandmother, included numerous other people who made their statement to history, and it is a statement that has lasted and will last for all time by the very act of perseverance.

My grandmother used to always tell the story that the hardest time of the boycott was in the summer, because in Montgomery it never gets very cold, but it can get very hot. And in the summer, a lot of black people in 1955 did not have a lot of money and they could not afford air conditioning in the car. They could not afford to fix the air conditioning, so the carpools could be very uncomfortable.

Another thing that made the summer uncomfortable was that the boys were out of school, so the little boys who wanted to stand on the side of the road and jeer the boycotters and the blacks of that community, they had nothing else to do during June and July and August. So she always said the summer was the worst time.

But what made that community so special is that it persevered, and that community chose dignity over comfort. The comfortable thing would have been to end the boycott after making a symbolic statement. The comfortable thing would have been to end the boycott because of the strain of carrying it forward. The dignified thing was to keep going and to keep asserting their rights. So we honor their community today.

And we do one other thing that is worth noting. We recognize that this history is not simply a story of black people of one race triumphing in this country as a story of us triumphing together, because in 1955, a white person in Montgomery, Alabama was not free either because a white person in Montgomery, Alabama had to build a code of conduct around not what was in his or her heart, but around what was written in the city ordinance. A white person in the south was not free in 1955 because he or she was bound by the color code of prejudice and the legal code of segregation.

Well, all of a sudden, after this assertion of dignity, white people became free too, to have a mindset, to have a sentiment that was not simply based on prejudice. So here we stand 50 years later with an appropriately uncontroversial resolution, with southern Democrats and southern Republicans standing together to offer it.

But the final thing that I say today, Mr. Speaker, is as we end this commemorative period and we put the statute in the hall and we pass the resolutions and we close this year down, we close the 50th anniversary down, it is not enough to honor this legacy by passing resolutions. And as we move into the second half of the 109th Congress, may we honor it by being true to this spirit. May we honor it by being true to the notion that there are no marginalized people in this country. If we marginalize and leave behind people, we somehow sacrifice all of our dignity. May we honor Rosa Parks by remembering that all of us have a place. If we are to have a country that is true, there is an agenda and there is a space for every one of God's children. If we can honor that, then Rosa Parks will have left a legacy that will endure for the ages and one that will lift the spirits and the imaginations of all kind of people all over this globe.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join with my colleague in consideration of H. Con. Res. 273, which recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott. This measure, sponsored by the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers), has the support and cosponsorship of 73 Members of Congress.

Rosa Parks is a great American and hero of the civil rights movement in this country. Rosa Parks symbolizes the triumph of civility over aggression, as was represented in her act of civil disobedience on December 1, 1955.

On that day, Mrs. Rosa Parks and other African American bus riders sat in the fifth row of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. According to the law in Montgomery, blacks had to sit in the back of the bus if a white person wanted a seat in the front. The three people Rosa Parks was with complied with the request of the bus driver, but she refused. Mrs. Parks knew full well that this act could lead to arrest or even worse had she drawn the ire of white bus patrons. Armed with this knowledge she took a stand that would prove to inspire the African American community to rally behind her example and begin a movement that would change the course of history in our country.

This simple act of refusing to give her seat in the front of the bus to a white patron, an act that led to her arrest and incarceration, was the spark that ignited a movement. Word of her act of defiance spread through the African American community in Alabama like wildfire. Civil rights leaders like the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, and Ann Robinson, president of the Women's Political Council, and members of the NAACP convened to discuss the significance of this act of civil disobedience. They quickly decided to boycott the buses in Montgomery, Alabama.

The boycott that followed was ultimately successful when in November 1956 the United States Supreme Court upheld a Federal court ruling that stated that segregation on buses is unconstitutional. More important than desegregating the buses in Montgomery, the boycott signified the beginning of the civil rights movement in the United States.

Years later, civil rights leaders would invoke the memory of the bus boycott as the critical event that galvanized the movement. The bus boycott, and the action of Mrs. Rosa Parks, was the critical event that galvanized that movement, inspired countless future acts of civil disobedience and peaceful protest against racial injustice.

I would like to recognize the actions, as all of us do, of Mrs. Rosa Parks, who passed away on Monday, October 24, 2005, and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott. I urge my colleagues to join in recognition of this amazing moment in the history of all America and of all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly commend the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers) for his introduction of this resolution. And it is my pleasure now to yield such time as he might consume to the other distinguished gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis).

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis) for his very eloquent characterization of the meaning of this resolution and the meaning of the life of Rosa Parks.

I yield such time as she might consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time and urge passage of this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 273)

recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 273, introduced by the distinguished gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers). This bill would recognize the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott.

On December 1, 1955, a young woman named Rosa Parks took a small act of defiance and sparked a massive response that changed our society forever. The history bears retelling: Montgomery, Alabama enforced a policy of racial segregation on its public transit system, black passengers in the back, whites in the front. When the front of the bus reached full capacity, the driver could instruct African American passengers to yield their seats to white riders.

On that fateful day, Rosa Parks refused to yield. She was physically and emotionally drained of the decades of intimidation, harassment, and discrimination of Alabama's African American population.

From that moment on, encouraged by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., a city-wide boycott of the public transit system erupted. The boycott was extremely effective, drastically reducing ridership on the transit system. Instead of riding buses, boycotters walked, rode bicycles, or joined car pools to get to work and to other destinations. Across the Nation, African American churches raised money to buy new shoes to replace the tattered footwear of boycotters helping to fuel the fight against Jim Crow laws.

Finally, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's racial segregation laws for public transit were unconstitutional, a clear victory for the boycotters. This led to a new city ordinance that allowed African American bus passengers to sit anywhere they pleased on any bus in the city.

Rev. Martin Luther King capped off the news with a speech to encourage acceptance of the decision. The boycott resulted in the U.S. civil rights movement receiving one of its first accomplishments and gave Martin Luther King the national attention that would make him one of the prime civil rights leaders in our history.

I urge all Members to come together and recognize this momentous event in our Nation's history by adopting H. Con. Res. 273.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers).

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers at the moment and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members to support the adoption of H. Con. Res. 273. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 273.

As we all know, it was 50 years ago last week that the Montgomery bus boycott had its humble beginnings in Montgomery, Alabama.

On that first day of December 1955, a quiet seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the city

bus. In doing so, she broke the law. But that did not stop Rosa Parks from doing what she knew was right that day. She remained in her seat even as police came to arrest her.

Her quiet protest, which was nothing short of a challenge to the status quo, led to the event which started the Montgomery bus boycott.

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply honored by the House's attention to these events today, and I am pleased to have another chance to honor one of Alabama's great civil rights leader, a woman whose recent passing has caused us all to mourn.

But this resolution also helps honor those who, along with Rosa Parks, helped make the Montgomery bus boycott a success. Leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for example, ultimately helped provide the leadership necessary for the boycott to continue.

Countless other Alabamians, as well as Americans from across the country, also came to help with this effort; and they continued with their protest until the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in their favor in 1956.

Mr. Speaker, we all have much to learn from the events of 1955 and 1956. I was in Montgomery last week and toured the parsonage where Dr. King helped coordinate many of the boycott's initiatives. It is my hope that this resolution will help pay tribute to those events. It is also my hope that this resolution will honor all those who participated in the boycott and provide our Nation another opportunity to learn from its past.

I appreciate the strong support for this resolution here in the House and thank my colleagues from Alabama in particular for their support. Rosa Parks may not be with us today to witness this resolution, but I am comforted in knowing her legacy and that all of those who helped make the boycott a success will live on for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask the House's continued support for this resolution.