Rosa Parks' Stand on a Montgomery bus still echoes across Alabama and beyond

MONTGOMERY - Seventy years ago, on December 1, 1955, a quiet but resolute seamstress named Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery city bus and changed the course of American history. Her refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger became the spark that ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 381-day protest that launched the modern Civil Rights Movement and elevated a young Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence.

Today, as Montgomery and the nation commemorate Parks' courageous act, Alabama's own U.S. Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL07) released comments praising Parks for her resolve seven decades ago.

A Seat Taken, a Movement Born

On that fateful Thursday evening in 1955, Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus after a long day's work at Montgomery Fair department store. When the bus filled and a white man was left standing, the driver demanded that Parks and three other Black passengers give up their seats. The others complied. Parks did not.

"I thought about Emmett Till," she later said, referencing the 14-year-old boy brutally murdered in Mississippi just months earlier. "I could not go back."

Her arrest galvanized the Black community. Under the leadership of Dr. King and the Montgomery Improvement Association, the boycott began. For over a year, Black residents refused to ride city buses, organizing carpools and walking miles to work. Their resilience led to a Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation on public buses unconstitutional.

Rep. Sewell: "Justice Must Be Accessible to All"

As Alabama reflects on Parks' legacy, Rep. Terri Sewell is making strides to ensure that justice remains not only symbolic but tangible. This week, she celebrated the House's unanimous passage of the bipartisan Tax Court Improvement Act, which she co-led with Rep. Nathaniel Moran (TX-01).

"Our constituents deserve a Tax Court that is efficient, fair, and transparent," said Rep. Sewell. "I was proud to work with my colleague Congressman Moran to lead the bipartisan Tax Court Improvement Act which will have a tangible impact on the thousands of taxpayers and small businesses that utilize the court every year."

The bill introduces four key reforms:

• Equitable Tolling of Deadlines: Allowing the Tax Court to extend filing deadlines in extraordinary circumstances.

• Expanded Role for Special Trial Judges: Enabling more cases to be heard efficiently while ensuring compliance with court orders.

• Judicial Disqualification Standards: Aligning Tax Court judges with federal recusal standards to bolster public trust.

• Subpoena Authority Before Hearings: Empowering judges to request documents earlier, expediting case resolution.

Rep. Moran praised Sewell's leadership, stating, "Together, we are focused on practical reforms that make the Tax Court more transparent, more accessible, and more just for taxpayers across the country."

From Montgomery's Buses to Washington's Halls

The connection between Rosa Parks' defiance and Rep. Sewell's legislative work is more than symbolic. Both women, separated by generations, have used their platforms to challenge systems that disproportionately burden the marginalized.

Parks' simple act of resistance exposed the deep inequities of Jim Crow laws. Sewell's work in Congress, including her advocacy for voting rights and judicial fairness, continues that legacy in the modern era.

As Montgomery honors Rosa Parks with wreath-laying ceremonies, church services, and educational events, her story remains a living testament to the power of individual courage. And in the chambers of Congress, Alabama's first Black woman elected to the House is ensuring that the fight for justice doesn't end at the bus stop.