Ala. lawmakers approve pardon for Rosa Parks

The Alabama Legislature gave final approval to a bill that sets up a process to pardon civil rights icon Rosa Parks and hundreds of others arrested for violating segregation-era laws.

The sponsor of the bill, Democratic Rep. Thad McClammy, said the legislation could lead to pardons for Parks, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and hundreds of others convicted of violating laws aimed at keeping the races separate. McClammy said the arrests date back as far as the early 1900s.

The bill, named “The Rosa Parks Act” was amended in the Senate to allow museums such as The Rosa Parks Library and Museum in Montgomery to continue to display records of the arrests.

The legislation now goes to Gov. Bob Riley, who has not said if he plans to sign it. Spokesman Jeff Emerson said Riley would review the bill and then decide.