U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell held a news conference Wednesday, Feb. 5, to announce introduction of a bill that would designate December 1 as a federal holiday to commemorate the historic arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery.
On that day in 1955, Parks was sitting in the front of a city bus when the bus driver told her to move to the back, which was designated for African Americans.
She refused and was arrested, which later sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the largest social movements in the civil rights movement and in history.
“Each year, Rosa Parks Day will serve as a reminder of the power of ordinary Americans to achieve extraordinary social change. And each year, Americans—young and old—can draw inspiration from her legacy in the continued struggle for equality and justice,” said Sewell.
During the news conference, Sewell was joined by Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke of New York, Rep. Joyce M. Beatty of Ohio, and Rep. Shomari C. Figures of Alabama.
