Congresswoman

U.S. Representative Candice Miller (MI-10) made the following statement on the upcoming dedication ceremony of a statue of the late civil rights pioneer Rosa Louise Parks to be held on Wednesday, February 27th in National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol.  ”It will be with great respect and eternal gratitude that I will join with my colleagues tomorrow as we dedicate the statue of the late civil rights pioneer Rosa Louise Parks.  Rosa Parks’ act of courage on that bus in downtown Montgomery, Alabama changed America in ways that few have in our nation’s long history.  It is entirely appropriate that her statue take its rightful place among Presidents and other historic figures in Statuary Hall in our nation’s Capitol.  Rosa Parks was a pillar of strength for the civil rights movement and courageously met injustice head-on.  The state of Michigan was blessed to have her become a member of our community where she lived and inspired countless Americans with her grace and dignity.  Rosa Parks continues to inspire us today, and will forever remain one of America’s beacons of courage, hope, equality and freedom.”  On December 1, 2005, President George W. Bush signed into law H.R. 4145, legislation directing Congress to obtain a statue of Rosa Parks and provide for its placement in the United States Capitol.  This will be the first statue of an African-American woman to be placed in the Capitol as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.  On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in downtown Montgomery, Alabama and refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, defying the Jim Crow laws of the time.  Her actions and subsequent arrest brought national attention to the causes of integration and civil rights.  Mrs. Parks dedicated the rest of her life to confronting injustice and lifting up others, moving to Detroit and founding an organization that educates young people and gives them the tools to succeed.  In 2005, Mrs. Parks, recipient of both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, became the first woman and second African-American to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.