[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 49 (Thursday, April 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO ANNIE MARTIN GIBSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 4, 2001

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Annie 
Martin Gibson of Summerton, South Carolina, who died at the age of 90 
on March 6. Mrs. Gibson and her late husband William were among the 
principle petitioners in the lawsuit Briggs v. Elliott, which became 
the first of the five lawsuits collectively known as Brown v. Board of 
Education of Topeka, Kansas. Those cases began the process of breaking 
down racial barriers in our nation's public schools.
  Annie Gibson's place in history has been often overlooked. She, along 
with 19 of her peers, were the original signers of the document that 
started legal action leading to the desegregation of America's schools. 
Mrs. Gibson was the last surviving petitioner who set the landmark 
desegregation movement into motion. For decades following the lawsuit, 
the Gibson family suffered through stress and unrest due to their 
decision. Mrs. Gibson was fired from her job as a housekeeper at a 
local hotel.
  While many of the petitioners left the Clarendon County area, the 
Gibsons remained with their four children. With the land they owned 
they managed to earn a meager living. A family friend said the family 
never succumbed to the hardships facing them. Mrs. Gibson has been 
described by friends and family as a quiet, gentle person who refused 
to allow her children to receive a second rate education. She was one 
of many unsung heroes during the Civil Rights Movement who should be 
celebrated and remembered for putting her country before herself.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me today in honoring Annie Martin 
Gibson for her great work as a Civil Rights Movement trailblazer. Her 
sacrifices should be remembered and celebrated by this House. Mrs. 
Annie Martin Gibson will be sorely missed.

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