[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 668 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 668

      Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the September 25, 1957, 
  desegregation of Little Rock Central High School by the Little Rock 
                                 Nine.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2007

Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Berry, Mr. Ross, Mr. Smith of 
   Texas, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. 
Wexler, Mr. Ellison, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Thompson of 
Mississippi, Mr. McDermott, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Davis of Illinois, 
 Mr. Farr, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Clay, Mr. Meeks of New York, 
   Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Lee, Ms. Carson, Mr. 
 Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Watson, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Sutton, and Mrs. 
Boyda of Kansas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the September 25, 1957, 
  desegregation of Little Rock Central High School by the Little Rock 
                                 Nine.

Whereas on May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court announced in Brown v. 
        Board of Education (347 U.S. 483) that, ``in the field of education, the 
        doctrine of `separate but equal' has no place'';
Whereas the Brown decision recognized as a matter of law that the segregation of 
        public schools deprived students of the equal protection of the laws 
        under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
Whereas in 1957, three years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education 
        decision, the promise of access and equality within the realm of 
        education remained unfilled in Little Rock, Arkansas, and throughout the 
        Nation;
Whereas on September 4, 1957, nine African American students who would later be 
        deemed the Little Rock Nine, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest 
        Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, 
        Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls, were denied admittance to Little 
        Rock Central High by the Arkansas National Guard at the order of the 
        Arkansas Governor;
Whereas on September 23, 1957, the Little Rock Nine, armed with a Federal court 
        order, again tried to attend Little Rock Central High and implement the 
        law of the land, but protests and violence forced the group of students 
        to leave the school;
Whereas on September 25, 1957, this Nation would realize a historic day when the 
        Little Rock Nine, escorted by Federal troops at the order of President 
        Dwight D. Eisenhower, successfully integrated Little Rock Central High;
Whereas throughout their tenure at Little Rock Central High, the Little Rock 
        Nine, with conviction and dignity, championed school integration despite 
        death threats, verbal and physical assaults, school closings, and other 
        adversities;
Whereas the Little Rock Nine are symbolic of the victorious dismantling of 
        school segregation, as well as the full and equal participation in 
        American society that all citizens are entitled to, and continue to 
        advance such principles through the Little Rock Nine Foundation;
Whereas the significance of the Little Rock Nine and their actions have been 
        acknowledged with numerous awards and recognitions, including the 2007 
        Little Rock Central High School Desegregation 50th Anniversary 
        Commemorative Coin, the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, the inclusion 
        of Little Rock Central High School in the National Park System in 1998, 
        and the designation of Little Rock Central High School as a National 
        Historic Landmark in 1982;
Whereas on the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High 
        School by the Little Rock Nine, the Nation will celebrate this great 
        civil rights achievement through forums and town halls, commemorations, 
        and significantly, the dedication of a permanent Little Rock Central 
        High School Museum and Visitor Center; and
Whereas in 2007, as the Little Rock Nine and the entire Nation celebrates 50 
        years of integration, we must acknowledge recent setbacks to the 
        guarantee of opportunity and inclusion within our educational system, in 
        both K-12 and higher education: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) acknowledges and commemorates the 50th anniversary of 
        the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School by the 
        Little Rock Nine;
            (2) encourages all Americans, upon this 50th anniversary, 
        to recognize the historic contributions of the Little Rock 
        Nine, who not only secured integration for Little Rock Central 
        High School, but hundreds of thousands of schools across the 
        country; and
            (3) commits itself, in the wake of recent challenges, to 
        continuing the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education and the 
        Little Rock Nine by protecting and advancing equal educational 
        opportunity for all.
                                 <all>