In observation of Rosa Parks' 110th birthday, the Southfield City Council and Mayor have officially declared February 4, 2023 as "Rosa Parks Day" in the City of Southfield in recognition of her passionate activism and meaningful contributions to the civil rights movement. This commemoration is a tribute to her remarkable legacy which is an inspiration to us all.

Joint Resolution

Rosa L. Parks Day in City of Southfield

110^th Birthday Celebration

February 4, 2023

WHEREAS,          Rosa Louise McCauley, born to James and Leona McCauley on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama.  Early on Rosa, her younger brother and their mother moved to Pine Level, Alabama; and

WHEREAS,          in 1932, at the age 19, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber and civil rights activist, who encouraged her to return to high school and earn a diploma; and

WHEREAS,          on December 1, 1955, Rosa, and other Black passengers on a bus in Montgomery were asked to give up their seats for the white passengers who were standing, she refused and subsequently was arrested and fined $10 for the offense and $4 for court costs, neither of which she paid; and

WHEREAS,          the Montgomery NAACP appealed the conviction and thus challenged legal segregation in Alabama.  On December 5, 1956, the Montgomery Improvement Association, led by, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.  organized a boycott of the municipal bus company; and

WHEREAS,          on November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision declaring Montgomery’s segregated bus seating unconstitutional, and a court order to integrate the busses was served on December 20, 1956, the boycott ended the following day; and

WHEREAS,          for her role in igniting the successful campaign, Rosa Parks became known as the “mother of the civil rights movement.”

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and Council of the City of Southfield, County of Oakland, State of Michigan do hereby recognize February 4, 2023, as the 110^th birthday of Rosa Louise Parks, and encourage the citizens of Southfield to join in remembrance of her.