Senator Stabenow Joins President Obama for Unveiling of Rosa Parks Statue at the U.S. Capitol
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow today joined President Barack Obama for the ceremonial unveiling of the new Rosa Parks Statue in the U.S. Capitol building. The president and members of Congress gathered to honor the civil rights leader, who would have been 100 this year.
Mrs. Parks' 1955 arrest after refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala. bus to a white passenger sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a turning point in the fight for civil rights. She and her husband, Raymond, relocated to Michigan in 1957, and she lived there until her death in 2005.
"Rosa Parks proved that the simplest acts can be the most heroic," Stabenow said. "By courageously sitting down to stand up for her basic human dignity, she changed our nation's history and made America a more just place. I'm proud that she will be recognized in our nation's Capitol, and all of us in Michigan should be proud that Rosa Parks chose to make our state her home."
Since 2005, Senator Stabenow has worked with the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute and supported legislation to commission a statue for the U.S. Capitol. In December, 2012, Senator Stabenow co-sponsored S.Res. 618 honoring the 100th Anniversary of Rosa Parks' birth. The resolution was agreed to by unanimous consent. Sen. Stabenow also wrote legislation to name the federal building located at 333 Mt. Elliot St. in Detroit the Rosa Parks Federal Building, which passed in 2005.
