Local civic leaders and area representatives in Washington, D.C. commemorated the death of civil rights icon Rosa Parks with kind words and remembrance.

Parks, a longtime civil rights activist, died Monday at the age of 92. She was known for her role in the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., which began after she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man.

"There's nothing more powerful than a symbol and she became a symbol," said theology professor Daniel McGuire. "When you get a symbol going you get a movement going."

"She will be remembered as a person in history who pushed those issues to the forefront," said Alderman Michael McGee, who represents Milwaukee's Sixth District. "To lose people of that nature is a tragedy."

"This is a woman who was living in a situation of oppression, she spoke for the value of human rights, not only civil rights," said Nicholas Creary, assistant professor of history.

"Nearly 50 years ago, Parks mustered the energy to confront the conditions under which she was living," Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee), who represents the state's 4th District, said in a statement.

"Motivated by the frustration of a personal situation, she stepped out of her story long enough to recognize and address collective wrongs against an entire race," Moore said. "Over a decade before the women's movement would encourage women to do the same, Parks truly understood that the personal is political."

"These victories achieved through generations of struggle are worth protecting," state Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) said in a statement.

After Parks' death, political leaders are taking her example and applying it to today's society.

"She's a great figure in our 20th century history whose legacy needs to be honored and continued as we see a number of assaults on basic fundamental rights in the 21st century," said Chris Ahmuty, executive director of Wisconsin's American Civil Liberties Union.

In addition to Parks' example, political leaders and Milwaukee citizens are looking to Parks as an inspiration in their own lives.

"Everyday millions of Americans encounter barriers in their attempt to put food on the table, deal with medical emergencies without health insurance, help their kids get a good education — all while working two or three jobs," Moore said. "For so many of them, Rosa Parks is their inspiration to overcome these barriers, and she is also mine."

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 27, 2005.