Washington D.C. – Today, on the 68th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ arrest, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) spoke on the House Floor to honor the Civil Rights icon and urge her colleagues to support her bill, H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act, to designate December 1st as a federal holiday. The Rosa Parks Day Act now enjoys the support of 114 cosponsors in the House of Representatives.

A recording is available for download and broadcast purposes here. Watch on YouTube here.

Rep. Sewell: Madam Speaker, I rise today to call on all of my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act. 

Today, December 1st, Americans across the nation are celebrating the legacy of Rosa Parks.

It was on December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus. This simple but bold act of resistance to segregationist Jim Crow laws inspired the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

For 481 days, spurred by Rosa Parks’ courage, thousands of African Americans peacefully protested the Montgomery city bus system until the United States Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that the segregation ordinances were unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, and was the first woman to ever lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. In addition, many states, including Ohio, California, Missouri, and Oregon, already observe Rosa Parks Day at the state level. 

Her legacy continues to inspire new generations of Americans to advance justice and equality. Now is the time to pass this legislation and to declare December 1st as a federal holiday and as Rosa Parks Day.

I yield back the balance of my time.