P1 1WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in
2Tuskegee, Alabama, the first child of James and Leona (Edwards)
3McCauley; and
4WHEREAS, Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks
5on December 18, 1932; and
6WHEREAS, Rosa Parks, tired after a long day’s work as a
7seamstress, was arrested on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery,
8Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white
9passenger; and
10WHEREAS, Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to comply with
11Montgomery’s segregation law was the impetus for the
12Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
13which lasted 381 days and involved more than 40,000 African
14American Montgomery residents; and
15WHEREAS, On November 13, 1956, the United States Supreme
16Court ruled that Montgomery’s segregation law was
17unconstitutional, and on December 20, 1956, Montgomery officials
18were ordered to desegregate buses; and
19WHEREAS, Rosa Parks is honored as the “Mother of the
20Modern Day Civil Rights Movement,” because her quiet act of
21defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in our
22country and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people
23throughout the world; and
P2 1WHEREAS, The courage and conviction of Rosa Parks laid the
2foundation for equal rights for all Americans and for the Civil
3Rights Act of 1964; and
4WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was the first woman to join the
5Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, and was an active volunteer
6for the Montgomery Voters League; and
7WHEREAS, Rosa Parks cofounded the Rosa and Raymond
8Parks Institute for Self Development in 1987 with Elaine Eason
9Steele to motivate and direct youth to achieve their highest potential
10through the “Pathways to Freedom” program; and
11WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was the recipient of many awards
12including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest
13civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor
14Congress can bestow upon a civilian, and the first International
15Freedom Conductor Award from the National Underground
16Railroad Freedom Center, among many other awards and honors;
17and
18WHEREAS, Rosa Parks dedicated her life to the cause of human
19rights and truly embodied the love of humanity and freedom; and
20WHEREAS, Rosa Parks passed away on October 24, 2005, and
21was the first woman to lie in state in the nation’s capitol; and
22WHEREAS, The people of the State of California are grateful
23for the bravery of Rosa Parks and her contribution to the civil
24rights movement; now, therefore, be it
25Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
26Assembly of the State of California hereby honors the 100th
27birthday of Rosa Parks and urges all Californians to remember this
28great American woman; and be it further
29Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
30of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
CORRECTIONS:
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Corrected 1-30-13—See last page. 99