Kirk Watson: “Rosa Parks's life is a milestone in American history. I stand here because she sat there. Her simple defiance of…”

“Rosa Parks's life is a milestone in American history. I stand here because she sat there. Her simple defiance of refusing to relinquish her seat 50 years ago on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, ignited the civil rights movement that transformed these United States. Without Rosa Parks there may not have been a Martin Luther King or a civil rights movement. Her death at the age of 92 reminds us all that one person can make a profound difference in the lives of others and in the course of history. She is the embodiment and exemplar of today's human rights movements around the world. Part of Rosa Parks's legacy was her quiet dignity and disdain for injustice. She was truly a woman of peace. What she determined that fateful day on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, is that she could not compromise her essential humanity. Her grace and her strength exemplified a purity of spirit and commitment to truth. The road less traveled by Rosa Parks was not always smooth or kind. She and her husband received numerous death threats and lost their jobs in the aftermath of the historic bus boycott. Her supporters' houses were fire-bombed. {time} 2200 Congress stood by and did nothing. Mrs. Parks finally moved north to Detroit where she had relatives and eventually ended up working for the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the esteemed Congressman.…”