Res. No. 203-A
Title
Resolution establishing February 4 as Rosa Parks Day to commemorate the Civil Rights leader.
Body
By Council Members Eugene, Kallos, Lander, Cohen, Constantinides and Miller
Whereas, Rosa Parks, was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913; and
Whereas, As a prominent Civil Rights activist, Rosa Parks was a long-time member of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as the chapter's secretary; and
Whereas, On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, which lead to a city-wide boycott of buses; and
Whereas, In 1900, Montgomery passed a city ordinance to segregate bus passengers by race, and created a white-only section in the front and a "colored" section for black people in the rear of the bus; and
Whereas, According to the law, no passenger would be required to move or give up their seat and stand if the bus was crowded and no other seats were available, though by custom Montgomery bus drivers adopted the practice of requiring black riders to move when there were no white-only seats available; and
Whereas, While returning home from her job as an assistant tailor at a department store, Rosa Parks and four other African-Americans were asked to give up their seats to white passengers who were standing; and
Whereas, After refusing to give up her seat, Rosa Parks was arrested and convicted of disorderly conduct and violating Montgomery's racial segregation laws; and
Whereas, Her act of civil disobedience resulted in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Martin Luther King Jr. where African Americans refused to ride city buses and instead walked or organized carpools; and
Whereas, 42,000 African Americans boycotted the Montgomery city buses for 381 days, beginning on December 5, 1955, until the bus segregation laws were c...
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