Recognizing the desegregation efforts at Girard College in Philadelphia, and the leaders involved in African-American integration and civil rights expansion.

Recognizing the desegregation efforts at Girard College in Philadelphia, and the leaders involved in African-American integration and civil rights expansion.

Whereas Philadelphia is a diverse city, comprised of generations of African-Americans who have contributed richly to United States history, and have supported national efforts in commitments to justice, equality, and diversity;

Whereas Temple University’s exhibit, Civil Rights in a Northern City: Philadelphia, documents several milestones in the city’s civil rights front that gained national attention, including the efforts to desegregate Girard College;

Whereas Girard College was created in 1848 by Stephen Girard to admit “poor white male orphans, ages six to ten”, as cited in his will;

Whereas, in March 1954, 6 African-American boys were rejected by the Board of City Trust at Girard College, citing Stephen Girard’s will;

Whereas, starting in 1955, Raymond Pace Alexander, a member of the Philadelphia City Council, led a series of legal battles citing the Brown v. Board of Education decision to document Girard College’s admittance practices as contradicting the Brown decision;

Whereas the admissions barring was upheld by the Philadelphia Orphan’s Court, and then the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania;

Whereas, on April 29, 1957, the United States Supreme Court unanimously found the racial ban at Girard College unconstitutional, reversing the previous courts’ decisions;

Whereas, in October 1957, Girard College became a private institution following the United States Supreme Court’s decision, and was allowed to uphold its discriminatory admitting practices;

Whereas Cecil Bassett Moore was born on April 2, 1915, in West Virginia and died in Philadelphia on February 13, 1979;

Whereas Cecil B. Moore was a former Marine Corps member, and attended law school at Temple University in Philadelphia and received his degree in 1953;

Whereas Moore was elected president of the local Philadelphia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in December 1962;

Whereas the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP was active in protesting segregation, leading rallies and peaceful efforts for housing access and equal work opportunity, gaining inspiration from the Southern Christian Leadership Council;

Whereas Moore was committed to expanding voting rights to African-Americans, helped organize protests, and pushed for the integration of Black students at Girard College;

Whereas, in May 1965, the NAACP led picketing at Girard College, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke to demonstrators at the college that same year;

Whereas, on March 4, 1968, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that the 7 African-American students must be admitted; and

Whereas, on May 23, 1968, Girard College voted to admit the students: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) recognizes the importance of the desegregation efforts at Girard College and the Philadelphian leaders that supported the local and national civil rights movements;

(2) recognizes and uplifts ongoing efforts that highlight African-American stories and history; and

(3) recognizes the need to continue protecting diversity at colleges and universities throughout the Nation, and the civil rights of students.