Byron Dorgan: “Let me this morning begin by talking about a woman who many of you know; the story, of course, is legend. On December 1…”

“Let me this morning begin by talking about a woman who many of you know; the story, of course, is legend. On December 1, 1955, in an Alabama city, a woman had just finished her work for the day. She was a seamstress. She was about 40 years old. She was tired, her feet hurt; she had worked a long day, and she was on the way home. She went back and forth to her job by bus. And on this day, at the end of the workday, with tired feet, this woman boarded a bus and took the first available seat. And as the bus traveled down the avenue, the bus began to fill up. And on this day, December 1, 1955, as the last seat was taken on the bus, a white male passenger boarded the bus and looked at this woman, Rosa Parks, and said, 'You must leave your seat and move to the back.' She refused to do so. At that point in the life of this country, she was required to ride in the back of the bus. Her dignity that day, as well as the fact that she had worked a long day and was tired, but her dignity especially, persuaded her to say, 'I'm not moving,' and she remained in her seat.”