Joyce Beatty: “I rise today to honor Rosa Parks, an American hero. Mr. Speaker, it was 70 years ago today, in Montgomery, Alabama, that…”

“I rise today to honor Rosa Parks, an American hero. Mr. Speaker, it was 70 years ago today, in Montgomery, Alabama, that Rosa Parks was arrested for not surrendering her bus seat to a White man, igniting a 381-day bus boycott. On December 5, more than 500 community leaders and guests will join me and Congressman James Clyburn, the president of The Ohio State University, and the president and CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority. Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago, I wrote the legislation for Ohio to become the first State in the Nation to designate December 1 as Rosa Parks Day. Lastly, as America approaches its 250th birthday, we must also honor the mothers of our democracy and carry forward their courageous examples.”