109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 208
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Rosa Louise 
Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on the bus and 
the subsequent desegregation of American soci-
ety.
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 208
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas most historians date the beginning of the modern-
day Civil Rights Movement in the United States to De-
cember 1, 1955; 
Whereas December 1, 1955, is the date of Rosa Louise 
Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man and 
her subsequent arrest;
•HCON 208 EH 
Whereas Rosa Louise Parks was born on February 4, 1913, 
as Rosa Louise McCauley to James and Leona McCauley 
in Tuskegee, Alabama; 
Whereas Rosa Louise Parks was educated in Pine Level, Ala-
bama, until the age of 11, when she enrolled in the Mont-
gomery Industrial School for Girls and then went on to 
attend the Alabama State Teachers College’s High 
School; 
Whereas on December 18, 1932, Rosa Louise McCauley mar-
ried Raymond Parks and the two settled in Montgomery, 
Alabama; 
Whereas, together, Raymond and Rosa Parks worked in the 
Montgomery, Alabama, branch of the National Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 
where Raymond served as an active member and Rosa 
served as a secretary and youth leader; 
Whereas on December 1, 1955, Rosa Louise Parks was ar-
rested for refusing to give up her seat in the ‘‘colored’’ 
section of the bus to a white man on the orders of the 
bus driver because the ‘‘white’’ section was full; 
Whereas the arrest of Rosa Louise Parks led African Ameri-
cans and others to boycott the Montgomery city bus line 
until the buses in Montgomery were desegregated; 
Whereas the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott encouraged 
other courageous people across the United States to orga-
nize in protest and demand equal rights for all; 
Whereas the fearless acts of civil disobedience displayed by 
Rosa Louise Parks and others resulted in a legal action 
challenging Montgomery’s segregated public transpor-
tation system which subsequently led to the United 
States Supreme Court, on November 13, 1956, affirming
•HCON 208 EH 
a district court decision that held that Montgomery seg-
regation codes deny and deprive African Americans of the 
equal protection of the laws (352 U.S. 903); 
Whereas, in the years following the Montgomery bus boycott, 
Rosa Louise Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 1957, 
and continued her civil rights work through efforts that 
included working in the office of Congressman John Con-
yers, Jr., from 1965 until 1988, and starting the Rosa 
and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, a 
nonprofit 501(c)(3) that motivates youth to reach their 
highest potential, in 1987; 
Whereas Rosa Louise Parks has been commended for her 
work in the realm of civil rights with such recognitions 
as the NAACP’s Springarn Medal in 1979, the Martin 
Luther King, Jr., Nonviolent Peace Prize in 1980, the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, and the Congres-
sional Gold Medal in 1999; and 
Whereas in 2005, the year marking the 50th anniversary of 
Rosa Louise Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on the 
bus, we recognize the courage, dignity, and determination 
displayed by Rosa Louise Parks as she confronted injus-
tice and inequality: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) recognizes and celebrates the 50th anniver-
sary of Rosa Louise Parks’ refusal to give up her 
seat on the bus and the subsequent desegregation of 
American society; 
(2) encourages the people of the United States 
to recognize and celebrate this anniversary and the
•HCON 208 EH 
subsequent legal victories that sought to eradicate 
segregation in all of American society; and 
(3) endeavors to work with the same courage, 
dignity, and determination exemplified by civil rights 
pioneer, Rosa Louise Parks, to address modern-day 
inequalities and injustice.
Passed the House of Representatives September 14, 
2005. 
Attest:
Clerk.