Remembering Rosa Parks

Washington, DC - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement in honor of the life and legacy of Rosa Parks:

"Today we mourn the passing of Rosa Parks, the mother of the modern civil rights movement. On a December day in 1955, Mrs. Parks, in one simple yet crystallizing act of moral clarity, gave voice and form to the struggle for civil rights and equality in our country. And, in so doing, Mrs. Parks pushed us to be a better nation.

"Mrs. Parks will long be remembered for her courage on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama, which sparked the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott led by civil rights leaders such as E.D. Nixon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. This moment sparked an historic beginning and paved the way for the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act which banned racial discrimination in public facilities, but her courage and commitment to civil rights began much earlier and reaches far deeper.

"As a nation, we are all thankful for her courageous contributions. Today, in honor of Mrs. Parks' legacy, we must be committed to fighting the inequities that remain and championing fundamental rights for all whether it is voting rights, equality for immigrants or a commitment to end poverty in America. This is the true legacy of Rosa Parks which will live on long after her passing."