October 30, 2005 – Rosa Parks Becomes First Woman to Lie in Honor at U.S. Capitol Rotunda

Rosa McCauley, later Rosa Parks, of African-American, Scots-Irish, and Native American descent, was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on February 4, 1913. She is best known for her role in triggering the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, after she refused to relinquish her bus seat to a white passenger (as was required for African-Americans).

The bus driver informed Parks he was bringing in the police to arrest her, but still she would not move.

Prior to Parks’ action on December 1, 1955, three other Montgomery blacks had been arrested for not giving up their bus seats, but Parks was deemed by the black leadership to have sufficient inner strength and respect of the community to serve as a rallying point for a boycott. In addition, the leadership thought she – humble yet dignified, would make a good impression on white judges.

Rosa Parks in 1955, with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the background

Martin Luther King, Jr., just 26 years old and relatively recently appointed as resident pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, was drafted as president of a protest committee, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA).

Several thousand attended the first mass meeting of the MIA on December 5th, 1955 to hear King speak about the boycott they began when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus. King delivered an appeal for support of the boycott that demonstrated his ability to move and inspire:

And we are not wrong; we are not wrong in what we are doing. (Well) If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. (Yes sir) [applause] If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. (Yes) [applause] If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong. (That’s right) [applause] If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer that never came down to Earth. (Yes) [applause] If we are wrong, justice is a lie (Yes), love has no meaning. [applause] And we are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water (Yes), [applause] and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Keep talking) [Applause]”

Martin Luther King at First Montgomery Improvement Association
Meeting to Organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott Holt Street Baptist Church, Montgomery Alabama 12/5/1955.

Many believe this was his most important speech.

Parks’ act of defiance and the Montgomery bus boycott became important symbols of the civil rights movement. She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation.

Reminiscing toward the end of her long life, Parks said:

I am leaving this legacy to all of you. … to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die — the dream of freedom and peace.”

Upon her death on October 24, 2005 at the age of 92, she became the first woman to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. President George W. Bush and congressional leaders paused to lay wreaths by her casket.

Few other individuals have lain in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. You can see the list of individuals who have lain in state or in honor in the rotunda, as well as individuals who have lain in state in National Statuary Hall, here.