U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell Calls for Federal Holiday to Honor Rosa Parks
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Alabama) is calling on Congress to designate December 1 as a federal holiday in honor of Rosa Parks.
Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery city bus. That action led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56 and sparked the beginning of the modern civil rights movement.
Today, in recognition of the 67th anniversary of Parks’ arrest, Sewell spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“As the representative of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of H.R. 5111, the Rosa Parks Day Act, which would designate today, December 1st, as a federal holiday in her honor,” Sewell said.
“This bill would ensure that her brave sacrifice will live on in American history forever and I urge my colleagues to sign on. As we reflect on her courage, let us never forget the power of ordinary Americans to achieve extraordinary social change. In the words of Rosa Parks, I urge you all to ‘never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.'”
Parks died on October 24, 2005, at the age of 92.
