Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. It was December 1, 1955. The city’s buses were . Unfair laws made Black passengers ride at the back. But Parks took a stand — by sitting. The driver told Parks to give her seat to a white passenger. Parks said no.
Police arrested Parks. But her act sparked other protests. One was the Montgomery bus . People stopped riding the buses. Parks was also part of the U.S. civil rights movement. The movement fought to end segregation.
People still remember Parks. Museums and books tell her story. And there are statues of her in Montgomery and Washington, D.C. Some lawmakers in D.C. want to do even more. They are trying to make December 1 a federal holiday. It would be Rosa Parks Day.
There are 11 U.S. federal holidays. To make a new one, members of Congress must vote.
Terri Sewell is a lawmaker from Alabama. She is in the House of Representatives. She wrote a called H.R. 308. The bill is backed by more than 30 members of Congress. All of them are part of the Congressional Black Caucus. That’s a group of Black lawmakers. If passed, the bill would create Rosa Parks Day. It would be the first U.S. federal holiday for a woman.
However, there is a lot going on in Congress. Some bills never make it to a vote. No one knows if Rosa Parks Day will happen. The lawmakers aren’t giving up. On November 29, some spoke in Washington, D.C.
Sewell called Parks “a true American hero.” She added, “This is not just about Black history. It’s about American history.” The leader said the holiday would make sure Parks’s “brave is never forgotten.”
Updated December 4, 2023, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Ashley Morgan
