[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 61 (Tuesday, May 17, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       BROWN VERSUS BOARD ANNIVERSARY SHOULD SPARK RACIAL DIALOG

  (Mr. LEWIS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the 40th anniversary of the Brown 
versus Board of Education decision commemorates one of the most crucial 
moments in the history of modern America.
  I was 14 years old when the Supreme Court issued the Brown decision. 
For me and many others, the decision gave us a feeling of optimism and 
hope. The decision created the climate for a nonviolent civil rights 
movement. As a participant in that movement, I feel a deep sense of 
pride and accomplishment in how far we have come in these past 40 
years.
  And yet, 40 years after the Brown decision, I fear that many 
Americans have forgotten how important the battle against racism is to 
the overall health of our Nation's democracy.
  There is a feeling that race is no longer a central issue. We do not 
talk about race in America anymore. We need to engage in a very serious 
dialog as a nation and as a people; a real debate and a major 
discussion on the issue of race. As a nation and as a people, we must 
continue to lay down the burden of race. As we move toward the 21st 
century, there is a need at the highest level of Government for our 
leaders to summon a national summit on race. We should say that we are 
one nation; one people; one house and one family; the American house 
and the American family.

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