Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Contact: George Holmes

For:   Immediate Release 

(212) 598-4000

CORE Mourns the passing of Civil rights hero rosa parks

CORE Chairman  roy innis lauds mrs parks as

"the mother of the modern day civil rights movement"

and a significant figure in america's history

New York City, NY – Hon. Roy Innis, National Chairman of CORE, expressed deep sorrow in the passing of civil rights hero Mrs. Rosa Parks. He said the organization mourns the loss of this courageous woman and icon of the civil rights movement. Innis said Mrs Parks will always be remembered as the spark that re-ignited the struggle against racism in the mid 50s and launched the career of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He described Mrs. Parks as the "Mother of the modern day civil rights movement in America"

When Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama  little did she know that her actions would become the impetus for a boycott of public transportation in Montgomery that would last 381 days, involve dozens of organizations including CORE, win the support of thousands of Blacks and Whites in Montgomery and reverberate throughout the country and around the world.  This single act of defiance re-energized the civil rights movement and led to other organized acts of civil disobedience that eventually struck down the Jim Crow

laws in the south that for years had effectively legalized racial discrimination.

In January 2003, CORE presented Mrs. Parks with its highest honor--the Martin Luther King, Jr. Heroes Award--during its annual celebration of the King Federal Holiday in New York City. Present at this event were the First Lady of the United States, Mrs Laura Bush, and Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist.

* * * * * * * * *