Children’s advocate Jeanette Sykes and Rep. Pat Dillon at the Rosa Parks luncheon.
February 13, 2013
Rep. Pat Dillon spoke at the commemoration of Rosa Parks’ 100th birthday at Gateway Community College in New Haven.
The civil rights pioneer would have been 100 on February 4th.
Children’s advocate Jeanette Sykes and Rep. Pat Dillon at the Rosa Parks luncheon.
Rep Dillon said, “We honor Rosa Parks because she was brave as an individual, and she acted for others. Other women like Irene Morgan, who challenged the state of Virginia, came before her, and other women have and will come after. The battle has shifted - for jobs, for justice. Cutbacks in Washington have heavily affected African Americans, especially women. Think about it. There was a time when a job at the Post Office was a good opportunity for those shut out of other jobs. There is still work to be done."
(AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser)
Rosa. Parks was arrested after she refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955 – one of the most celebrated moments of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.