Rosa Parks Federal Building

ROSA PARKS FEDERAL BUILDING -- (House of Representatives - October 26, 2005)

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Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the other side for agreeing to the unanimous consent, and I would like to thank my colleagues for giving me this opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the life of a great heroine of the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks, a woman who dared to make a difference.

As a child I traveled to Alabama. My mother was from Chilton County. I experienced the segregated South. I rode in the back of the bus. I used a colored restroom, and I went in the back doors. Thank God for Rosa Parks.

I remember one day getting on a bus between Clinton and Birmingham, and the bus driver would not take my bag and put it on the bus. And I said, Sir, this bus ain't going nowhere unless you put my bag on. And an older woman on the bus said, Girl, you better get on this bus and sit down. It is a long ride between Clinton, Alabama, and Birmingham.

There are few in history of this country that had the courage to stand up to the adversity with the dignity and strength of Rosa Parks. Her brave action in 1955 began a movement that would change the face of the Nation. Oftentimes history has said that her reason for refusing to get up was because her feet hurt. The truth is she was tired, tired of enduring injustices and tired of being a second class citizen. And as Fannie Lou Hamer said, ``Sick and tired of being sick and tired.'' So she decided to make a difference.

Rosa Parks' legacy of courage in the struggle for justice for African Americans in this country will be an inspiration for generations to come. I offer my sincere condolences to her family and friends at this time.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the life of a great heroine of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks. A woman who dared to make a difference.

As a child I traveled to Alabama and experienced the segregated South. I rode in the back of the bus, I used the colored restroom and I went into the back doors.

I remember riding the bus between Clanton and Birmingham and the bus driver refused to put my bag on. I told him the bus wasn't going anywhere until he put my bag on. An older woman said: ``Girl get on this bus, it's a long ride between Clanton and Birmingham.''

Thank God for Rosa Parks.

There are few in the history of this country who have had the courage to stand up to adversity with the dignity and strength of Rosa Parks. Her brave action in 1955, refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white man, began a movement that would change the face of this Nation forever.

Oftentimes history has said that her reason for refusing to give up her seat was because her feet hurt, but that was not the case. The truth is, she was tired. Tired of enduring the injustices of the segregated South. Tired of being treated as a second-class citizen or as Fannie Lou Hamer would say, ``sick and tired of being sick and tired.'' So she decided to make a difference that day in Alabama.

Rosa Parks' legacy of courage in the struggle for justice for African Americans in this country will be an inspiration for generations to come. I offer my sincere condolences to her family and friends during this time.

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