Res. No. 266

Resolution calling upon the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to place a sticker or other visual aid on the first seat of every one of its buses that it operates in New York City proclaiming the importance of Rosa Parks and reserving the first seat of every bus on December 1 each year in honor of Rosa Parks.

By Council Members James, Liu, Mark-Viverito, Sears, Vann and Weprin

                     Whereas, Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, as Rosa Louise McCauley, to James and Leona McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama;

                     Whereas, Her moral resolve and quiet strength inspired the Civil Rights Movement in the United States over the last half-century; and

                     Whereas, Rosa Parks was educated in Pine Level, Alabama, until the age of 11, when she enrolled in the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls and then went on to attend the Alabama State Teachers College High School; and

                     Whereas, On December 18, 1932, Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks and settled in Montgomery, Alabama; and

                     Whereas, Raymond and Rosa Parks were active in the Montgomery, Alabama branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where Rosa Parks served as secretary and youth leader and Raymond Parks served as a member;

                     Whereas, On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in the “colored” section of the bus to a white man upon the direct order of the bus driver because the “white” section was full; and

                     Whereas, The arrest of Rosa Parks inspired African-Americans and others to boycott the Montgomery city bus line until the buses in Montgomery were fully desegregated; and

                     Whereas, The 381-day Montgomery bus boycott encouraged other brave people across the United States to organize and demand equal rights for all people; and

                     Whereas, The courageous acts of civil disobedience engaged in by Rosa Parks  and others challenged the unjust discriminatory laws and practices ultimately leading to the landmark United States Supreme Court case of Gayle v. Browder, 352 U.S. 903 (1956), affirming the District Court decision that Montgomery segregation codes deny and deprive African Americans of equal protection of the law; and

                     Whereas, Rosa Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1957 and in 1965 was hired by United States Representative John Conyers for whom she worked for 23 years until her retirement in 1988 at the age of 75; and

                     Whereas, Rosa Parks continued her passion for civil rights work by founding the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in 1987, a nonprofit organization that motivates young people to reach their highest potential; and

                     Whereas, Rosa Parks was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and

                     Whereas, The year 2005 marked the 50^th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on the bus and also marked her passing on from this earth on October 24, 2005; and

                     Whereas, We join our sister cities around the United States in recognition of the dignity, courage, and fierce determination displayed by Rosa Parks when she challenged inequality and injustice and hereby amplify her message that “each person must live their lives as a model for others;” now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, that the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to place a sticker or other visual aid on the first seat of every one of its buses that it operates in New York City proclaiming the importance of Rosa Parks and reserving the first seat of every bus on December 1 each year in honor of Rosa Parks.

Res 1296/2005

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