[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 143 (Sunday, October 11, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 LITTLE ROCK NINE MEDALS AND COINS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 9, 1998

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill 
H.R. 2560 to present Gold Medals to Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, 
Jefferson Thomas, Dr. Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls Lanier, 
Minniejean Brown Trickey, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed-Wair, 
and Melba Pattillo Beals, collectively known as the Little Rock Nine.
  I was a 16-year-old college freshman at Arkansas A.M. of N. College 
in Pine Bluff, Arkansas; and on a daily basis we waited with baited 
breath to hear or see what had taken place on that day at Central High 
School in Little Rock. The nine young people gave all of us a sense of 
pride and fulfillment as we observed their strength, courage, and 
determination. They were all outstanding; however, I was particularly 
struck by the fact that my mother, a very soft-hearted and genteel 
woman, declared Minniejean Brown as her hero.
  These were indeed heady times for all of us in Arkansas and 
especially so, for those of us who were Black. Daisy Bates, president 
of the Little Rock NAACP became a goddess for those of us who were 
liberation hungry and searching for equality, equal justice, and equal 
opportunities. Attorney Wiley Branton, Dr. Cleon Flowers, Attorney 
Flowers, Dentist Mazique, President Lawarence A. Davis, Dean J.B. 
Johnson, Earl Evans, and others became in my mind great civic and 
community leaders. I am indeed pleased to see this recognition provided 
to the Little Rock Nine as evidence of the significant role which they, 
their parents and leaders like Daisy Bates and Wiley Branton played in 
the school desegregation and Civil Rights Movement in this country. 
They were Golden Children and deserve Gold Medals.
  I thank you, Mr. Speaker, and yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________