Rosa Parks Federal Building

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

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Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan. Thank you, America, for believing in a greater country. I want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), ranking member of our committee, and certainly Chairman Young. I want to thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), as well as the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the entire House of Representatives for bringing this bill to the floor at this time.

Rosa Parks lived in my district for almost 50 years. I met her as a young women of 19 years old, after leaving Montgomery, Alabama and coming to Detroit. She lived in my district even two nights ago when she passed, and I was honored when the family called me and asked me to come with them the night of her death.

The building that we are naming in honor of Mrs. Rosa Parks is the Federal building in Detroit that houses our Immigration and Homeland Security Department. It will soon be called the Rosa Parks Federal Building. What a tribute to a young woman who dedicated her life, her very soul, her self-respect to building a better, stronger America for all of its people.

Mrs. Parks was one who did not like a lot of fanfare. She did what she had to do, and she spent her life working with the youth of America, letting them know that they can be and do what they want to be and do, that with the spirit of God they can be that power that we must have in our country. It was young people that she dedicated her life to.

As we name this building the Rosa Parks Federal Building on a very busy thoroughfare in the city of Detroit that goes east and west through many communities, it is with honor that I stand here as a sponsor. I want to thank our entire Michigan delegation, both all the Republicans and all the Democrats, who signed on as cosponsors. It is a glorious occasion.

Before I take my seat, I want to talk about the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, her foundation that she has had over 20 years that again encourages young people, teaches young people, educates them about the civil rights movement, about math, science and all that goes with that, as well as the struggle for justice and all that goes with that.

I thank the Members of the House of Representatives as we pass this tonight. The Senate has also acted today. On December 1, 1955, 50 years ago this December 1, Mrs. Rosa Parks sat down so that we might stand up. Our country is better for it, and the world is better for Mrs. Rosa Parks. The Rosa Parks Federal Building in Detroit will stand as a witness to her sacrifice, her self-respect, and her courage.

I would ask all my colleagues to support Mrs. Rosa Parks as we soon lay her to rest in the country that she helped to make great.

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H.R. 2967 seeks to honor Mrs. Rosa Parks, an iconic figure of the civil rights movement by naming the Federal Building at 333 Mt. Elliott Street at E. Jefferson in Detroit, MI, after Rosa Louise Parks.

H.R. 2967 currently has 22 cosponsors including the entire Michigan delegation.

Rosa Parks was a seamstress and the secretary of the local NAACP. Mrs. Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Al. bus in December 1955. She was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance. Her defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in America and made her an inspiration to people everywhere.

The bus incident led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association. The association called for a boycott against the city-owned bus company. Black people citywide boycotted the bus system for more than a year. As a result of the boycott and the actions of Rosa Parks, the Supreme Court eventually outlawed racial segregation on public transportation.

December 1, 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of Mrs. Rosa Parks's arrest for refusing to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Al.

It is the courage, dignity, and determination that Mrs. Parks exemplified that allow most historians to credit her with beginning the modern day civil rights movement.

In 1957, Mrs. Parks and her husband Raymond moved to Detroit.

She continued her seamstress career and later served on the staff of Congressman John Conyers in various administrative jobs for 23 years and retired in 1988 at the age of 75.

After the death of her husband, she founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. The Institute sponsors leadership programs for youth, including an annual summer program for teenagers called Pathways to Freedom.

The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development offers educational programs for young people including two signature programs: first, Pathways to Freedom, a 21-day program that introduces students to the Underground Railroad and the civil rights movement with a freedom ride across the United States and Canada, tracing the underground railroad into civil rights; and second, Learning Centers and Senior Citizens, a program that partners young people with senior citizens where the young help the senior citizens develop their computer skills and senior citizens mentor the young;

HONORS

Rosa Parks has been honored for her dedication and work with such recognitions as: the NAACP's Spingarn Medal in 1979; The Martin Luther King, Jr., Nonviolent Peace Prize in 1980; The Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996; and The Congressional Gold Medal in 1999. Time magazine also named Rosa Louise Parks as one of the ``100 most influential people of the 20th century.'' The Henry Ford Museum in Michigan bought and exhibited the bus on which she was arrested, and the Rosa Parks Library and Museum opened in Montgomery in 2000.

LEGACY

Mrs. Parks passed away on Monday at the age of 92 in Detroit. Rosa Parks' legacy is a symbol of hope and inspiration for all. We can all proudly stand on the shoulders of this great giant.

Rosa Parks' work helped change history. Her contributions to the civil rights movement brought this country a step closer to equality. Her devotion to the civil rights movement and the city of Detroit will always be remembered.

People who make meaningful contributions to society should be recognized and honored. Naming the Federal Building at 333 Mt. Elliott Street at E. Jefferson after Mrs. Rosa Parks will remind everyone who drives by or visits the building of the contribution she made for civil rights.

The life of Rosa Parks shows that one person can make a difference.

QUOTES FROM ROSA PARKS

Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others

I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.

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