December is a month of celebration for many Americans. The Library of Congress houses several collections of holiday-related primary sources to provide students different perspectives on holidays. Please see our December 2009 Newsletter for Library of Congress links to popular holiday resources.

December is also a significant month in the history of the fight for civil and human rights. December 1, 2010 marks the 55th anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest in 1955 for her refusal to relinquish her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Mrs. Parks' arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. There are numerous primary sources available via the Library of Congress documenting the violation, and fight for civil rights in our nation's history.

December 10, 2010 will also be the 62nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration is significant because it formed the foundation for international human rights law. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt served President and Chair of the Commission on Human Rights. The United Nation's website celebrating the declaration's 60th anniversary in 2008 provides resources for those interested in this historic document.

Library of Congress - Today in History: December 1 (resources)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec01.html

The National Archives - Teaching With Documents: Act of courage, The Arrest Records of Rosa Parks (Lesson plan)
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/rosa-parks/

American's Story from America's Library - Rosa Parks was Arrested for Civil Disobedience (timeline)
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_parks_1.html

myLOC - Rosa Parks' Arrest Record (exhibit)
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/naacp/civilrightsera/ExhibitObjects/RosaParksArrestRecord.aspx

myLOC - NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom 1909 - 2009, The Civil Rights Era (exhibit)
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/naacp/civilrightsera/Pages/Default.aspx

bio.com - Rosa Parks Biography
http://www.biography.com/articles/Rosa-Parks-9433715

New York Times: Rosa Parks, 92, Founding Symbol o Civil Rights Movement, Dies. (article)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/us/25parks.html

Library of Congress- Southern Voices: Texts from the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill (collection)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/ncuhtml/ncuhome.html

Library of Congress - African American Odyssey (Presentation and Digital Collections)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/aohome.html

Library of Congress – Prints & Photographs Online catalog (PPOC), Miscellaneous Items in High Demand (conduct search using key word “civil rights”)
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cph/

Library of Congress - "Votes for Women" Suffrage Pictures, 1850 - 1920 (Collection)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/vfwhtml/vfwhome.html

Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar (Collection)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/anseladams/

Human Rights Event at the Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2010/10-260.html

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Document)
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

UN's 60th Anniversary Website
http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/udhr60/declaration.shtml