[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 832 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 832
Observing the 100th birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks and
commemorating her legacy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 13, 2012
Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mrs. Roby, Ms. Sewell,
Mr. Walberg, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Levin, Mr. Huizenga of Michigan, Mr.
Curson of Michigan, Mr. Bachus, Ms. Richardson, Ms. Lee of California,
Mr. Nadler, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Frank of
Massachusetts, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Watt, Mr.
Dingell, Mr. Clarke of Michigan, Mr. Clay, Mr. Fattah, Ms. Moore, Ms.
Norton, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Ms. Clarke of New York,
Mr. Camp, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Pierluisi, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Cohen,
Ms. McCollum, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr.
Richmond, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Chu,
Mr. Aderholt, and Ms. Castor of Florida) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Observing the 100th birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks and
commemorating her legacy.
Whereas Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee,
Alabama, the first child of James and Leona (Edwards) McCauley;
Whereas Rosa Parks dedicated her life to the cause of universal human rights and
truly embodied the love of humanity and freedom;
Whereas Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, for
refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a White man, and her stand for
equal rights became legendary;
Whereas news of the arrest of Rosa Parks resulted in approximately 42,000
African-Americans boycotting Montgomery buses for 381 days, beginning on
December 5, 1955, until the bus segregation law was changed on December
21, 1956;
Whereas the United States Supreme Court ruled on November 13, 1956, that the
Montgomery segregation law was unconstitutional, and on December 20,
1956, Montgomery officials were ordered to desegregate buses;
Whereas the civil rights movement led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public
Law 88-352; 78 Stat. 241), which broke down the barrier of legal
discrimination against African-Americans and made equality before the
law a reality for all people of the United States;
Whereas Congress recognized on November 18, 2005, that most historians date the
beginning of the modern civil rights movement with Rosa Parks' act of
civil disobedience (H. Con. Res. 208);
Whereas Rosa Parks has been honored as the ``first lady of civil rights'' and
the ``mother of the freedom movement'', and her quiet dignity ignited
the most significant social movement in the history of the United
States;
Whereas, in 1987, Rosa Parks and her close associate Elaine Steele cofounded the
Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development to motivate and
direct youth to achieve their highest potential through Rosa Parks'
philosophy of ``quiet strength'' and cross-cultural exposure for
nurturing a global and inclusive perspective;
Whereas Rosa Parks was the recipient of many awards and accolades for her
efforts on behalf of racial harmony, including the Congressional Gold
Medal, the Spingarn Award, which is the highest honor of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People for civil rights
contributions, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the
highest civilian honor in the United States, and was named one of the 20
most influential and iconic figures of the 20th century;
Whereas Rosa Parks, by her quiet courage, symbolizes all that is vital about
nonviolent protest, as she endured threats of death and persisted as an
advocate for the simple, basic lessons she taught the Nation and from
which the Nation has benefitted immeasurably;
Whereas Rosa Parks and her husband Raymond Parks moved to Michigan in 1957 and
she resided there until her death on October 24, 2005;
Whereas, in recognition of the historic contributions of Rosa Parks, her remains
were placed in the rotunda of the Capitol from October 30 to October 31,
2005, so that the people of the United States could pay their last
respects to this great American;
Whereas, in November 2005, Congress authorized the Joint Committee on the
Library to procure a statue of Rosa Parks to be placed in the Capitol;
Whereas the United States Postal Service will issue a stamp in February 2013 to
honor Rosa Parks and her courage to act at a pivotal moment in the civil
rights movement;
Whereas, the bus on which Rosa Parks sparked a new era in the American quest for
freedom and equality is one of the most significant artifacts of the
American civil rights movement and is on permanent display in the Henry
Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan;
Whereas, on February 4, 2013, the Henry Ford Museum, will commemorate the 100th
birthday of Rosa Parks by calling for a National Day of Courage and
sponsoring a program that highlights her contributions to the civil
rights movement, including a day-long celebration, with both virtual and
on-site activities featuring nationally recognized speakers, musical and
dramatic interpretative performances, a panel presentation of ``Rosa's
Story'' and a reading of the tale ``Quiet Strength'', featuring the
actual bus on which she sat as the centerpiece in commemorating her
extraordinary life and accomplishments, and affording everyone the
opportunity to board the bus and sit in the seat that she refused to
give up; and
Whereas the Rosa Parks Museum at Troy University and the Mobile Studio will
commemorate the birthday of Rosa Parks with the 100th Birthday Wishes
Project, culminating on February 4, 2013, with a 100th birthday
celebration at the Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts in Montgomery,
Alabama, where 2,000 birthday wishes submitted by individuals throughout
the United States will be transformed into 200 graphic messages: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes and celebrates the 100th birthday of civil
rights icon Rosa Parks; and
(2) commemorates the legacy of Rosa Parks to inspire all
people of the United States to stand up for freedom and the
principles of the Constitution.
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