On the recordApril 20, 1999
Mr. Speaker, every now and then God places in our midst an angel, a human being of extraordinary character and immeasurable compassion with the energy and courage to fuel their undying commitment to justice. Rosa Parks is that person. Rosa Parks is that angel, a woman of divine inspiration who, on December 1, 1955, refused to move from the white only section of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. When she was told to move to the back of the bus, she was arrested. Rosa Parks was a working woman, a seamstress of very modest means. She had neither political power nor influence. She simply had the courage of her convictions. Mrs. Parks did not move to the back of the bus. She took a stand. She was arrested. Her arrest sparked a revolution on December 5, 1955. The defiant spirit of Rosa Parks ignited the long suppressed longing for freedom, and the contagious sparks of new possibilities sailed through the Montgomery air.
Source
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