Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Rep. Terri A. Sewell (AL-07) was joined by Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Rep. Joyce M. Beatty (OH-03), and Rep. Shomari C. Figures (AL-02) for a press conference announcing introduction of H.R. 964, the Rosa Parks Day Act. The bill would designate December 1^st as a federal holiday commemorating the historic arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama. February 4^th marked Rosa Parks’ 112^th birthday.

Watch it on YouTube here.

Rep. Sewell: Good morning, everyone. I'm Congresswoman Terri Sewell. I proudly represent Alabama's 7^th Congressional District, which includes the historic cities of Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and my hometown of Selma, Alabama.

I want to thank my colleagues for joining me today. We are here to pay tribute to a civil rights icon and an American heroine from my home state of Alabama, Mrs. Rosa Parks, as she celebrates what would have been her 112^th birthday.

Rosa Parks’ legacy is one of remarkable bravery and fortitude. By simply refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus, she stood up for the values that this nation holds dear. Her quiet, distinguished courage set the stage for the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott and galvanized a movement that changed the very fabric of this nation.

That’s why I am so excited to have re-introduced legislation in the House to designate December 1^st as a federal holiday commemorating her historic arrest in Montgomery, Alabama.

Each year, Rosa Parks Day will serve as a powerful reminder of the fight for justice that took place in Montgomery, Alabama. Moreover, it will become the first federal holiday to honor a woman, let alone a Black woman.

This bill is especially important given the attacks by the Trump Administration on our history, the history of African Americans. Sadly, we know that efforts are afoot to erase our history and roll back the progress that so many of our ancestors fought and died for.

We all have seen the terrible news. Purges of federal employees who work to make our government more inclusive. Agency websites wiped of information promoting equity and fairness. The banning of books. New barriers to the ballot box. And the list goes on and on.

Most recently, on February 1^st, the Trump Administration even banned the Defense Intelligence Agency from observing Black History Month and Martin Luther King Day.

And just last month, we learned that the history of the Tuskegee Airmen from my home state of Alabama had been removed from the Air Force training curriculum before being restored after public backlash.

Americans should see these attacks for what they really are—an attempt to whitewash our history and devalue the contributions of African Americans. Their attack is an attack on all of us and the values that make this nation great.

In times like these, it is important, especially, for us to tell our story and to recognize the contributions of amazing leaders like Rosa Parks. Her legacy is a part of American history and should be celebrated as the important part of American history.

By honoring her with a new federal holiday, we can ensure that what happened in Montgomery and Selma and Birmingham is never ever erased or forgotten, no matter how hard some extremists may try.

Each year, Rosa Parks Day will serve as a reminder of the power of ordinary Americans to achieve extraordinary social change. And each year, Americans—young and old—can draw inspiration from her legacy in the continued struggle for equality and justice.

This effort is very personal to me. I get to stand here as Alabama’s first Black Congresswoman because amazing freedom fighters like Rosa Parks were unafraid to challenge the status quo and to make this nation live up to its highest ideals of equality and justice for all.

As women of the Congressional Black Caucus, we stand on her shoulders, and I can think of no one more befitting to honor with a new federal holiday.

With that in mind, I want to thank my colleagues for their support. Our bill, which was introduced last evening, already has 57 cosponsors in the House. We look forward to harnessing this momentum to get it across the finish line, and it is our hope that we can do so in a bipartisan way.

I will now yield to my friend and colleague from Ohio, the former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and the leader in the state of Ohio when she was majority leader in the state legislature to make Rosa Parks Day a state holiday in the state of Ohio, Ms. Joyce Beatty.

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