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WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama, the first child of James and Leona (Edwards) McCauley; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks, a fellow NAACP member, on December 18, 1932; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks, a seamstress, an activist, and a Black woman, was tired of being tired; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger; and

WHEREAS, For her defiance, Rosa Parks lost her job, received countless death threats, and fell into deep poverty; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks arrest for refusing to comply with Montgomerys segregation law was the impetus for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which lasted 381 days and involved more than 40,000 Black Montgomery residents; and

WHEREAS, On November 13, 1956, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Montgomerys segregation law was unconstitutional, and on December 20, 1956, Montgomery officials were ordered to desegregate buses; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks is honored as the Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement, because her deliberate act of defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in our country and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, The courage and conviction of Rosa Parks laid the foundation for equal rights for all Americans and for the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was the first woman to join the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, and was an active volunteer for the Montgomery Voters League; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks cofounded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development in 1987 with Elaine Eason Steele to motivate and direct youth to achieve their highest potential through the Pathways to Freedom program; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was the recipient of many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow upon a civilian, and the first International Freedom Conductor Award from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, among many other awards and honors; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks dedicated her life to the cause of human rights and truly embodied the love of justice and freedom; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks passed away on October 24, 2005, and was the first woman to lie in state in the nations capital; and

WHEREAS, Rosa Parks lived long enough to see her legacy flourish, and was able to speak her truth in her own words; and

WHEREAS, The people of the State of California are grateful for the bravery of Rosa Parks and her contribution to the civil rights movement; and

WHEREAS, The history of Black people here in the United States is indeed unique and vibrant, and it is appropriate to celebrate this history during the month of February, which has been proclaimed as Black History Month; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate hereby honors the 105th birthday of Rosa Parks and urges all Californians to remember this great American woman; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.