On the 60th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ arrest in Montgomery, Alabama, President Obama praised her protest of segregated buses Tuesday for leading to the end of Jim Crow laws.
“Rosa Parks reminds us that there is always something we can do,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “It is always within our power to make America better.”
A civil-rights activist, Ms. Parks was arrested on Dec. 1, 1955, for refusing to obey a bus driver’s order to give up her seat in the African-American section to a white passenger after the white section was filled. The incident led to a bus boycott that is credited with giving important momentum to the civil rights movement.
“Because Rosa Parks kept her seat, thousands of ordinary commuters walked instead of rode,” Mr. Obama said. “Because they walked, countless other quiet heroes marched. Because they marched, our union is more perfect.”
He said a little more than a year after Ms. Parks’ arrest, “the Montgomery buses were desegregated, and the entire foundation of Jim Crow began to crumble.”
Ms. Parks died in 2005.
“Rosa Parks held no elected office. She was not born into wealth or power,” Mr. Obama said. “Yet 60 years ago today, Rosa Parks changed America.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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