[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 5 (Tuesday, February 3, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E84-E85]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO BRIGGS V. ELLIOTT PLAINTIFFS, CLARENDON COUNTY, SOUTH 
                                CAROLINA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 1998

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me during Black History 
month to honor a group of genuine American heroes. I rise to pay 
tribute to the original plaintiffs of Briggs v. Elliott. The heroism of 
these 20 individuals has changed both our country's past and future in 
a positive way.
  While many have studied the landmark case of Brown v. Board of 
Education of Topeka, few have heard the story of the individuals who 
questioned the status quo in a small South Carolina county. Beginning 
in 1947 with a community's desire to provide bus transportation for 
African American children who were

[[Page E85]]

then walking to school, these individuals and their supporters embarked 
on a journey that would change the texts of history books forever.
  In 1949, 107 Clarendon County citizens signed a petition to the local 
school board that pushed beyond the transportation issue and asked for 
equal education for African American children. After both denials and 
refusals to act from the local school board, twenty of those courageous 
signers went on to become plaintiffs in Briggs v. Elliott in 1950. 
These petitioners risked their well being, many lost jobs and some were 
forced to move away from their families because they dared to take a 
stand against the ``separate but equal'' doctrine in the south.
  The South Carolina District Court ruled against the petitioners by 
denying their plea for desegregation of the schools in 1951. After a 
second negative hearing in 1952, Briggs v. Elliott found its way from 
Clarendon County, South Carolina to the United States Supreme Court. 
Upon being placed on the Supreme Court's calendar, Briggs v. Elliott 
was not alone. There were four other desegregation cases from Kansas, 
Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia. The Court ended 1952 
with a split decision on the five cases that became known as Brown v. 
Board of Education of Topeka.
  Late in 1953, the Supreme Court convened to hear final rearguments in 
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. By early 1954, the Court had 
written a final opinion. On May 17 at 12:52 p.m., Chief Justice Warren 
announced that the court had reversed the ``separate but equal'' 
doctrine by ruling unanimously that segregated schools were 
unconstitutional. The opinion reads in part, ``We conclude that in the 
field of public education the doctrine of `separate but equal' has no 
place.'' Warren went on to say, ``Therefore, we hold that the 
plaintiffs . . . deprived of the equal protection of the laws 
guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.''
  Although the early political was surrounding Briggs v. Elliott were 
lost, these 20 plaintiffs were the foundation on which the case of 
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was based to eventually win the 
battle of public, desegregated education in our nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join with me and pay 
tribute to the 20 plaintiffs in Briggs v. Elliott who are indeed 
American heroes.
  Harry Briggs, Anne Gibson, Mose Oliver, Bennie Parson, Edward Ragin, 
William Ragin, Luchrisher Richardson, Lee Richardson, James H. Bennett, 
and Mary Oliver.
  Willie M. Stukes, G. H. Henry, Robert Georgia, Rebecca Richburg, 
Gabrial Tyndal, Susan Lawson, Frederick Oliver, Onetha Bennett, Hazel 
Ragin, and Henry Scott.

                          ____________________