[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 23 (Thursday, February 27, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ONE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST TREASURES
______
HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON
of mississippi
in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 27, 1997
Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize one of
Mississippi's most out-spoken heroes and one of America's greatest
treasures. Although the contributions that Americans of African descent
have made to this country are inexplicably woven into the very fiber of
freedom and democracy upon which this country was founded, they are
consistently overlooked and seldom find their place in history books
alongside those of their white counterparts. However, because the
recognition of these contributions has been relegated to 1 month out of
the year--this month--instead of everyday, I would like to take a
moment to share with you an article from ``The Mississippi Link'', a
paper in the district I represent. This article commemorates the life
of Mr. R. Jess Brown--Civil Rights pioneer and true supporter of
democracy.
``R. Jess Brown: A Memorial Tribute to Keep His Memory Alive''
(By Nettie Stowers)
special to the mississippi link
R. Jess Brown, a citizen of Mississippi residing in the
city of Jackson, in September, 1988 was summoned by the U.S.
Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus
Foundation, Inc. to the Nation's Capitol. Brown had been
invited to attend and participate in ``A Special Tribute To A
Great American, The Honorable Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme
Court Justice'' that was hosted by the Black Caucus and
Foundation.
This invitation to attend and participate in the tribute
was due Brown, in part, because the Jackson, Miss. attorney
had been a member of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund which had
also included Justice Marshall. According to the Magnolia Bar
Association, in his august career, Brown ``played a major
role with the NAACP Legal Defense lawyers in (ending) the
discrimination against Blacks in the areas of transportation
and other public accommodations along with (the) Honorable
Thurgood Marshall, then Associate Justice of the United
States Supreme Court (now deceased); (the) Honorable
Constance Baker Motley and Robert L. Carter, now (both are)
residing judges in the United States District Court for the
State of New York; and other NAACP Legal Defense lawyers.''
At this tribute, billed as ``A Special Tribute To Thurgood
Marshall . . . The Lifetime Companion For Justice For All
People . . .'', Brown was rubbing elbows with people who held
esteem for equal justice for all Americans such as Wiley
Branton, Sr., Esquire, (now deceased); U.S. Representatives
Louis Stokes, Michael Espy, Mervyn Dymally, Walter Fauntroy
and Julian Dixon; William Coleman, Jr., former Secretary of
the Department of Transportation; Ramsey Clark, former U.S.
Attorney General; and AME Bishop H. H. Brookins.
Brown was accustomed to such invitations and honors: a
civil rights lawyer, he had served as a member of the team
lawyers who had systematically dismantled the discriminatory
segregationists and ``Jim Crow'' laws in America, especially
in the South and Mississippi. Brown's contributions to
American society are a reading of U.S. History and
Mississippi History.
In 1948, Brown joined Gladys Noel Bates in seeking equal
salaries for black teachers in Jackson when very few, if any,
blacks dared to oppose the historically white supremacy power
structure in the Magnolia State. Jether Walker Brown, his
widow who still lives in Jackson, said ``when Jess stepped in
to help Mrs. Bates, almost no one was speaking to her because
of intimidation by whites. Jess stepped in and almost
immediately made the Black people feel ashamed for their
actions.'' Jether Brown went on to say that ``things were not
easy for him (Jess) or any of us during this time. Anyone or
any group associated with helping Blacks get equal treatment
``receiving death threats harassment and vindictive and cruel
intimidation; this included men, women and children. This was
especially true for Jess, me and our two children. Oh Lord,
it wasn't easy!''
Mrs. Brown also said that her husband represented a lot of
Black people in cases where Mississippi sought the death
penalty; but, these Black folk were never executed because
her husband would keep on appealing their cases until some
judge or court would overrule Mississippi's decision to
execute.
In the 1950's Brown filed the first civil rights suit in
Mississippi in Jefferson Davis County seeking the enforcement
of the right of Black citizens to become registered voters.
He was successful in obtaining Clyde Kennard's release after
Kennard was convicted for the theft of chicken feed after
attempting to register to vote at Mississippi Southern
University. In the 1960's, Brown was among the team of
lawyers who represented James Meredith in opening the doors
of Ole Miss to Blacks.
The civil rights lawyer represented Mack Charles Parker in
the Circuit Court in Pearl River County, Miss., who was
lynched and thrown in the Pearl River after Brown raised the
jury selection question prior to Parker's trial. And, while
serving as counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU), Brown was successful in obtaining reversals of
convictions of Black defendants because discrimination
against blacks in jury selection in Scott and Warren
Counties.
Before Brown's untimely death in 1989, Attorney Firnst J.
Alexander, Jr., assisted Brown in obtaining an acquittal for
a Black defendant accused of being involved in attempted
armed robbery of an alleged white victim in Neshoba County,
Miss., where the alleged victim was shot.
Mrs. Brown said, ``All of R. Jess' cases were important;
but I'd say that lawyers in the State of Mississippi were
hard to find and Mississippi had a rule that out-of-State
civil rights lawyers could not come in and represent the
people who were suffering and dying from discrimination--a
local lawyer had to take the lead.'' That's how we got some
of the lawyers in Mississippi whose names are a part of civil
rights history like Carsie Hall, Jack Young, Sr. and others.
Brown served on the executive board of the National Bar
Association, he received numerous honors and awards which
includes the C. Francis Stratton Award of the National Bar
Association, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Award; and, the Illinois State University Award of
Achievement. Brown's fraternal affiliations included Phi Beta
Sigma Fraternity, the Elks, and L.K. Atwood Lodge. Brown was
a member of Pratt United Methodist Church in Jackson,
Mississippi.
When asked about her greatest contribution to R. Jess' and
his undaunted efforts to gain equality under the law for
American with African heritage, Mrs. Brown said ``R. Jess was
a humanitarian, educator, and fighter for civil rights. I
made my contribution as a friend, wife, mother to our
children and someone with whom he could confide and consult
with on any subject. I have given it to R. Jess, he valued
and respected my opinions and my knowledge.''
at first glance fact about r. jess brown
September 2, 1912--December 31, 1989.
Formal Education: Public Schools of Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Undergraduate Education: Illinois State University.
Graduate Education: Indiana University.
Legal Education: Texas Southern University School of Law.
Admitted To Practice Law: All Mississippi State Courts;
U.S. District Courts for the Southern/Northern Districts of
MS.
Profession: High School Teacher, College Professor, Lawyer.
Married to Jether Lee Walker Brown; Jackson, MS.
Children: Jacqueline Brown Staffney; Jackson, MS and
Richard Jess Brown; Jackson, MS.
major accomplishments
Filed the first civil rights suit in Mississippi seeking
the enforcement of the right of Americans with African
heritage to become registered voters.
Represented James Meredith in opening the doors of the
University of Mississippi to American with African heritage
with other lawyers from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
memorial tribute
The Magnolia Bar Association (R. Jess Brown was a co-
founder) presents the R. Jess Brown Award to a deserving
attorney.
R. Jess Brown Park; Capitol Street; Jackson, Mississippi.
____________________