[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 28, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S11302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AWARDING THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO THE ``LITTLE ROCK NINE''

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today in support of S. 
1283, legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest 
honor Congress can bestow upon civilians for acts of public service and 
patriotism, to those civil rights leaders history will remember as the 
``Little Rock Nine.''
  As all of my colleagues are aware, on September 25, 1957, nine young 
students, in the face of unspeakable hostility and hatred, voluntarily 
integrated Central High School in Little Rock, AK. In doing so, they 
confronted not only an angry mob assembled in fierce opposition, but 
also an entrenched culture of bigotry and racism.
  In today's day and age, lofty terms like valor, heroism, and bravery 
are used so frequently and in such a casual context the proper impact 
of their meaning has unfortunately been devalued. However, it is 
sometimes within the most ordinary acts, such as a child's steps 
through a schoolhouse door, in which the most extraordinary instances 
of courage can be found.
  Jean Brown Trickey, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Melba Patillo Beals, 
Terrence Roberts, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed Wair, Ernest 
Green, Elizabeth Eckford, and Jefferson Thomas are all civil rights 
pioneers. In addition, however, to serving as national symbols as 
racial progress, each deserve individual recognition for the dignity 
and grace they displayed on that September morning 40 years ago.
  Mr. President, awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the ``Little 
Rock Nine'' would provide this long overdue honor to these exceptional 
people. As a U.S. Senator, it is my pleasure to cosponsor this 
legislation. As an American, it is my privilege to have the opportunity 
to say thank you to nine men and women who, in pursuit of their own 
education, taught the rest of the nation an invaluable lesson about 
racial equality.

                          ____________________