Bill Would Give Rosa Parks Capitol Tribute (would lie in honor on Sunday)

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Bill Would Give Rosa Parks Capitol Tribute
Legislation Will Make Her First Woman to Lie in Honor in Capitol

By Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 27, 2005; 6:30 PM


Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man 50 years ago and gave spark to the modern civil rights movement, will make history again as the first woman ever to lie in honor in the Capitol this weekend, if pending legislation passes congressional approval.

Since her death Monday, churches, organizations and individuals have been clamoring to pay tribute to Parks, 92. The grandest gesture came from U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), in whose Detroit office Parks worked for more than 20 years.

Conyers authored legislation to pay tribute to Parks with a six-hour vigil inside the Capitol on Sunday. An aide said the vote on his legislation would probably come after the regular session tonight or tomorrow.

The tribute would be a high point of several days of memorials to Parks, announced by the NAACP which is handling arrangements outside Detroit, where she lived and worked after moving from Montgomery.

So far, plans include services in Montgomery on Saturday and Sunday morning, after which her body will be flown to Washington and, under the plan, would lie in the Capitol from 6 p.m. to midnight and possibly again on Monday. A memorial service is tentatively planned for Monday at Metropolitan AME Church on M Street NW. The body will be flown back to Detroit where it will repose in the city's African American museum; burial will be Tuesday....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102701702.html

[catbert836]

1. Excellent.

Even death hasn't stopped her from making history.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. wow! That's one hell of an honor -

and she deserves it!

[AX10]

3. That's a great honor!

:kick:

[TomPainesBones]

4. This is so cool

Thanks John!

[shenmue]

5. Fitting tribute

Moving and necessary. I hope it happens.

:patriot:

:loveya:

[Rose Siding]

6. I hope this happens

What a fine tribute. Oh, that John Conyers :cry:

[Vidar]

7. Un beau geste, Mr. Conyers, very appropriate.

[ourbluenation]

8. Contact your rep and tell them you agree!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5195805&mesg_id=5195805

[DeepModem Mom]

9. Thanks, ourbluenation!

[ourbluenation]

10. My pleasure...just doing my part for my girl, Rosa. May she RIP. eom

[Darknyte7]

11. I'll stand in line for that!

I really hope this happens....

[David Zephyr]

12. Rosa deserves nothing less.

Rosa Parks = Courage.
Rosa Parks = Dignity.
Rosa Parks = A Great American.

[DebJ]

13. Call your rep in the House. They are voting on it tomorrow.

[kskiska]

14. Good thing Jessie Helms isn't still in the Senate

and Ol' Strom has gone to his reward.

[rateyes]

15. Good point...

BTW, I always read that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a "white man." Does anyone know the name of the "white man?" I wonder if he's still around, and what he is thinking today, if he is.

[Hardrada]

16. This must happen.

She deserves more honors than Ronnie Reagan for that matter.

[KenCarson]

17. just out of curiosity, i looked it up to see what the rules/precedents are

"Lying in state is a term used to describe the tradition in which a coffin is placed on view to allow the public at large to pay their respects to the deceased. It traditionally takes place in the principal government building of a country.


In the United States, lying in state takes place underneath the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. The first leader to receive this honor was statesman Henry Clay in 1852. Since then the honor has been extended to 10 U.S. presidents, including the four who were assassinated, but is not limited to them.

No law, written rule, or regulation specifies who may lie in state; use of the Rotunda is controlled by concurrent action of the House and Senate. Any person who has rendered distinguished service to the nation may lie in state if the family so wishes and Congress approves. In the case of unknown soldiers, the president or the appropriate branch of the armed forces initiates the action.

<snip>

Notable non-Presidential figures who have lain in state include Thaddeus Stevens (1868), Charles Sumner (1874), The Unknown Soldier (1921), John J. Pershing (1948), Douglas MacArthur (1964), J. Edgar Hoover (1972) and Hubert H. Humphrey (1978).

The ten presidents who have lain in state in the Capitol rotunda are:

* Abraham Lincoln (1865)
* James Garfield (1881)
* William McKinley (1901)
* Warren Harding (1923)
* William Howard Taft (1930)
* John F. Kennedy (1963)
* Herbert Hoover (1964)
* Dwight Eisenhower (1969)

o Eisenhower is one of three five-star generals to lie in state in the Capitol. The others are Pershing and MacArthur.
* Lyndon Johnson (1973)
* Ronald Reagan (2004)
"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lying-in-state

[Divernan]

20. Interesting-J.Edgar Hoover was so honored, but not Eleanor Roosevelt.

nt

[Lisa]

18. and make sure it's at the FRONT of the building!

She deserves the best -- not just for what she did on that day, but for all the years after.

[Aimah]

19. It makes sense...

She didn't do a service just for black people but for the country as a whole.

[kestrel91316]

21. And when they are done they should bury her in ARLINGTON!

:patriot:

A true patriot and hero! RIP Rosa.

[FredStembottom]

22. Finally! For once in my life......

these honors will go to the right person!

Wish I could get to D.C. if this happens!

[brainshrub]

23. This is wonderful.

A fitting tribute.