On the 50th anniversary of Parks' arrest, bus seats were left empty.
To honor Parks' act of civil disobedience, transportation officials in New York City, Washington, D.C., and other American cities left the seats behind bus drivers unoccupied on December 1, 2005.
On the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man, President Bush signed a bill requesting that a statue of Parks be erected in the Capitol's Statuary Hall. Parks, who died on Oct. 24 at the age of 92, will be the first black woman to be honored in Statuary Hall, which has sculptures honoring noteworthy figures from each state's history.
Bush credited Parks for helping to “set in motion a national movement for equality and freedom.” “Eventually the civil rights movement would succeed in persuading Congress to pass more sweeping legislation that dealt with voting rights and discrimination in public places, and school segregation,” said the president. “And the United States Congress should renew the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
Many of the civil rights activists, Park's family, and politicians assembled at the White House for the signing ceremony were taken aback by the announcement. They rose to offer Bush a standing ovation, erupting in cheers.
