10th Anniversary ~ Rosa Parks Day in California ~ "Spirit in Water, Tribute to Dear Rosa"

Sacramento, CA ~ This measure proclaims Rosa Park's birthday, February 4, 2000, and the first Monday following February 4 of each subsequent year, as Rosa Parks Day in California.

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, the first child of James and Leona (Edwards) McCauley; Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks on December 18, 1932; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, and her stand for equal rights became legendary; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to comply with Montgomery's segregation law was the impetus for a boycott of Montgomery buses, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by approximately 42,000 African Americans for 381 days; and

WHEREAS, On November 13, 1956, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Montgomery's segregation law was unconstitutional, and on December 20, 1956, Montgomery officials were ordered to desegregate buses; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks is honored as the "Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement," because her refusal to surrender her seat in compliance with Montgomery's segregation law inspired the civil rights movement, which has resulted in the breakdown of numerous legal barriers and the lessening of profound discrimination against
African Americans in this country; and

WHEREAS, The courage and conviction of Rosa Parks laid the foundation for equal rights for all Americans and for the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was the first woman to join the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, and was an active volunteer for the Montgomery Voters League; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks cofounded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in 1987 with Elaine Easton Steele to motivate and direct youth to achieve their highest potential through the "Pathways to Freedom" program; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks is the recipient of many awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest honor Congress can bestow upon a civilian, and the first International Freedom
Conductor Award from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, among many other awards and honors; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks has dedicated her life to the cause of human rights and truly embodies the love of humanity and freedom; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby declares her birthday, Friday, February 4, 2000, and the first Monday following February 4 of each subsequent year, as Rosa Parks Day and urges all Californians to pay homage to this great American woman; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.