Rosa Parks Day Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the legacy of an American heroine, Mrs. Rosa Parks, as we observe the 69th anniversary of her historic arrest in Montgomery, Alabama.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks took a bold stand against segregation by refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. Her quiet, dignified courage sparked the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and galvanized a movement that changed the very fabric of this Nation.

Beginning on December 5, and continuing for the next 13 months, African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, brought the city's bus system to a screeching halt. Their efforts were successful, resulting in the November 1956 Supreme Court decision outlawing racial segregation on public buses.

The changemakers who staged the Montgomery Bus Boycott are a testament to the will of a disenfranchised people to take control of their own destiny, and their success quickly became the global model for nonviolent human rights advocacy.

Mr. Speaker, 69 years later, as the benefactors of their sacrifices, we remain indebted to them for laying the foundation of the continued struggle

for liberty and justice for all. That is why today, I am proud to be leading the effort in Congress to designate December 1 as Rosa Parks Day to commemorate her historic arrest.

H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act, was the very first bill that I introduced in the 118th Congress, along with my colleagues, Chairman of the CBC, Steven Horsford of Nevada, and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty of Ohio.

It will help ensure that Rosa Parks' brave sacrifice is never forgotten, and it will remind us of the power of ordinary Americans to achieve extraordinary social change.

Moreover, it will become the first Federal holiday in our Nation's history to honor a Black woman. Rosa Parks is a true American hero. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, and even became the first woman to ever lie in state at the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

Her lifelong work in the fight for equality and justice still resonates today. There is no more befitting figure in our Nation's history to honor with a new Federal holiday.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to call on all of my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act.

Today, December 1, Americans across the Nation are celebrating the legacy of Rosa Parks. It was on December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus. This simple but bold act of resistance to Jim Crow segregation laws inspired the historic Montgomery bus boycott.

For 481 days, spurred by Rosa Parks' courage, thousands of African Americans peacefully protested the Montgomery City Bus System until the United States court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that the segregation ordinances were unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1966, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, and was the first woman to ever lie in state at the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

In addition, many States, including Ohio, California, Missouri, and Oregon already observe Rosa Parks Day at the State level. Her legacy continues to inspire new generations of Americans to advance justice and equality.

Madam Speaker, now is the time to pass this legislation and to declare December 1 as a Federal holiday, as Rosa Parks Day.