WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — A group of lawmakers wants to designate Dec. 1 as a federal holiday in honor of Rosa Parks.
The effort to create “Rosa Parks Day” is being spearheaded by Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and the Congressional Black Caucus.
“By simply refusing to give up her seat Rosa Parks stood up for the values that this nation holds dear,” Sewell said.
She says a federal holiday would commemorate Parks’s important activism and send a strong message to future generations.
“To acknowledge her with her own federal holiday is just one way we can pay honor and tribute and we can say to the nation: Never forget,” Sewell said.
If passed, it would become the twelfth annual federal holiday. Though Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) notes this one would be particularly historic.
“Rosa Parks would be the very first woman, and yes a Black woman, to be honored with a federal holiday,” Beatty said.
The legislation doesn’t have enough support to pass, but those behind the effort say they’re working on that.
“I think it’s going to be some very tough discussions,” Sewell said.
Outside of the Congressional Black Caucus, the bill is getting mixed reactions.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) says he has no issue with a possible “Rosa Parks Day.”
“She’s an American icon and deservedly so,” Hawley said.
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) is more on the fence.
“I’m happy to have that discussion. At some point we need to draw the line at additional federal holidays,” Cornyn said.
Congresswoman Sewell says she’s committed to making it happen.
“We will have a federal holiday for a woman, a Black woman, the Rosa Parks Day. And we will introduce it into Congress year after year until it becomes law,” Sewell said.