Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) spoke on the Floor of the House of Representatives to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the arrest of Rosa Parks. 

A video recording of Rep. Sewell’s remarks can be viewed and downloaded here. Her remarks are transcribed below.

Rep. Sewell: Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an American native, an Alabama native, and Civil Rights icon, Mrs. Rosa Parks, on the 67th anniversary of her historic arrest.

On this day, December 1st, in 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, taking a bold stand against Montgomery’s segregated bus system. Her dignified courage sparked the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott and changed the very fabric of our nation.

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.

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.”

Thank you, and I yield back.