Whereas, December 1st 2005 will mark the 50th anniversary of the day that Rosa Parks helped to open the modern civil rights movement by being arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing an order to give her bus seat to a white man, and

Whereas, Mother Rosa Parks' passing on Monday, October 24, 2005 has made it all the more timely and necessary that we honor, preserve and draw inspiration from her courage and legacy, and

Whereas, The heroic Montgomery bus boycott against racist segregation that Mother Parks sparked became the first mass movement to defeat legalized segregation in the South, as well as the struggle that introduced the world to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the boycott's principal spokesperson, and

Whereas, The tragic Katrina hurricane exposed to the world the continuing urgent need even fifty years later to battle racial inequality, poverty and war, the three things that Dr. King came to see as the main enemies of all human progress, and

Whereas Mother Rosa Parks most famously taught us by her ACTION, after all the theory and speaking, by doing something demonstrative to the powers-that-be for freedom and for humanity, Then Be It

Resolved, That the Detroit City Council declares December 1, 2005 Rosa Parks Action Day for Equality, Peace and Economic Prosperity for All, Be It Further

Resolved, That the Council encourages all businesses in the city, both public and private to conduct demonstrations on December 1st, or allow the many workers and students in the city who will want to attend Rosa Parks commemorative events taking place during normal business hours, to take time off to demonstrate for social justice in the manner of Mother Rosa Parks.