[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 116 (Monday, September 10, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H5465-H5467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMISSION
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 2133) to
establish a commission for the purpose of encouraging and providing for
the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision
in Brown v. Board of Education.
The Clerk read as follows:
Senate amendments:
Page 3, line 8, strike out ``Chair'' and insert ``one of
two Co-chairpersons''.
Page 3, after line 8, insert:
(2) Two representatives of the Department of Justice
appointed by the Attorney General, one of whom shall serve as
one of two Co-chairpersons of the Commission.
Page 3, line 9, strike out ``(2)'' and insert ``(3)''.
Page 3, strike out lines 11 to 22.
Page 3, after line 22, insert:
(A)(i) The Members of the Senate from each State described
in clause (iii) shall each submit the name of 1 individual
from the State to the majority leader and minority leader of
the Senate.
(ii) After review of the submissions made under clause (i),
the majority leader of the Senate, in consultation with the
minority leader of the Senate, shall recommend to the
President 5 individuals, 1 from each of the States described
in clause (iii).
(iii) The States described in this clause are the States in
which the lawsuits decided by the Brown decision were
originally filed (Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, and
Virginia), and the State of the first legal challenge
involved (Massachusetts).
(B)(i) The Members of the House of Representatives from
each State described in subparagraph (A)(iii) shall each
submit the name of 1 individual from the State to the Speaker
of the House of Representatives and the minority leader of
the House of Representatives.
(ii) After review of the submissions made under clause (i),
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in consultation
with the minority leader of the House of Representatives,
shall recommend to the President 5 individuals, 1 from each
of the States described in subparagraph (A)(iii).
Page 4, line 3, strike out ``(3)'' and insert ``(4)''.
Page 4, line 6, strike out ``(4)'' and insert ``(5)''.
Page 4, line 8, strike out ``(5)'' and insert ``(6)''.
Page 4, line 10, strike out ``(6)'' and insert ``(7)''.
Page 5, line 4, strike out ``the Chair'' and insert ``a Co-
chairperson''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis).
General Leave
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks on H.R. 2133, the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
[[Page H5466]]
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
It is my pleasure to rise in support of H.R. 2133 introduced by the
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Ryun), which would establish a commission to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown versus Board of Education
decision. This bill passed the House on June 27, 2001, under suspension
of the rules by a vote of 414 to 2 and passed the Senate on August 3
with some amendments. These amendments change how the commission would
be formed and who would make the recommendations for commission
members.
Mr. Speaker, May 17, 2004, will mark the 50th anniversary of this
landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision. This legislation would establish
a Federal commission to provide for and encourage the commemoration of
that anniversary. The Brown decision, as studied in law schools across
the United States, is remembered for its definite interpretation of the
14th amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court stated that
the discriminatory nature of racial segregation violates the 14th
amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal
protection of the laws.
On a human level, the Brown decision has had a dramatic impact on
families, communities, and governments by outlawing racial segregation,
meaning an end to legal discrimination on any basis. Today, we take it
as a given that, as the Court opined at that time, separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal.
Cheryl Brown Henderson, of the Brown Foundation, had the idea to
establish a commission to prepare for the commemoration of the 50th
anniversary of this decision. Seeing the educational value this
commission would bring, my colleague, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr.
Ryun), followed through with legislation to establish it. The
commission would work in conjunction with the Department of Education
to plan and coordinate public education activities and initiatives
through its 10 regional offices. Activities such as public lectures,
writing contests, and public awareness campaigns will be included.
The commission is to be comprised of 22 members, including
representatives from the Department of Education, the Department of
Justice, the NAACP, the Judicial Branch, the Brown Foundation, and the
Brown v. Board National Historic Site. In addition, Members of the
Senate and House of Representatives from the States in which the
lawsuits were originally filed, Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, and
Virginia, and from the State of the first legal challenge,
Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia would recommend individuals
to the Speaker of the House and minority leader and the majority and
minority leader in the Senate for the commission.
Ultimately, we hope that this commission will educate Americans about
the far-reaching historical impact of this decision and what it has
done for this country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Kansas (Mr. Ryun), the sponsor of this bill, to speak on behalf of
it.
Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank those in the House
and the other body for their hard work in bringing this important bill
to the floor today. I especially want to thank one of my constituents,
Cheryl Brown Henderson, for being the catalyst in this effort to
educate America on the Brown versus Board of Education Supreme Court
decision.
H.R. 2133 will establish a commission to help educate Americans on
the history and ramifications of this landmark case in preparation for
the 50th anniversary of the Brown decision. On May 17, 1954, the U.S.
Supreme Court issued a definitive interpretation of the 14th amendment
that would unequivocally change the landscape of American public
education. This decision effectively ended the long-held ``separate but
equal'' doctrine in U.S. education.
The commission will work in conjunction with a number of different
Departments, as my colleague just mentioned, the Department of
Education, Judicial Branch, NAACP Legal Defense and Education
Foundation, and the Brown Foundation. It will also have individuals
chosen from the various States where this originated, such as in
Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, and Massachusetts will also serve on
the commission. So it will be very far-reaching, but it is a great
opportunity to bring all this before the American public.
Establishing a commission will help educate the American public on
this decision and will serve as a resounding reminder to all of us of
the real struggle and sacrifice required to make equality a reality for
all America.
{time} 1445
We must not forget these sacrifices that were made in order for
equality for all Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this
historic and far-reaching Supreme Court decision by supporting H.R.
2133.
Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2133, the legislation to
establish the Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission.
I want to commend my friend and colleague, the gentleman from
Chicago, Illinois (Mr. Davis) for his leadership in bringing this bill
to the floor as the ranking member and co-sponsor of this bill.
This commission, in conjunction with the Department of Education and
the Department of Justice, is charged with planning and coordinating
public educational activities, initiatives, writing contests, and
public awareness campaigns regarding this anniversary of Brown v. the
Board of Education.
Under the bill, the commission will in cooperation with the Brown
Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research, submit
recommendations to the Congress to encourage, plan and develop the
observances of the anniversary of Brown decision. The 50th anniversary
of the Brown decision will take place on May 17, 2004. Brown v. the
Board of Education is to be commemorated for what it did to address the
disparities in the American educational system 47 years ago and to help
remind us that there is much yet to be done to address the disparities
that we struggle with even today.
Education has always been the way up and the way out for America's
youth. Equal educational opportunity is America's best hope for racial,
social, and economic justice. It was because of this fact that in 1951
Oliver Brown and the parents of 12 other black children filed a lawsuit
against the Topeka Board of Education protesting the City's segregation
of black and white students. This is why also today parents all across
America, particularly parents of children of color, are demanding that
elected officials improve the quality and equality of America's
schools.
In 1997, we know that 93 percent of whites age 25 to 29 had attained
a high school diploma or equivalency degree. In that same year, only 87
percent of African-Americans had attained their high school diploma and
just 63 percent of Hispanics. Among those who achieved a high school
diploma, 37 percent of whites had completed a bachelor's degree at a
college or university compared with only 16 percent of African-
Americans and 18 percent of Hispanics. Clearly the statistics revealed
to us that we have not yet achieved the goals of Brown v. Board of
Education.
Given the increasing importance of skills in our labor market, these
gaps in educational attainment translate into significant differences
by race and ethnicity in eventual labor market outcomes, such as wages
and employment.
It is important to remember that the historic Brown v. Board of
Education decision, which was announced in May of 1954 by Chief Justice
Earl Warren, represented a significant change in our policy in our
public schools that has meant much progress for those who were for many
years segregated into substandard and unequal classrooms.
Justice Warren, in that opinion, stated that public education was a
right which must be made available to all on equal terms. I trust that
this commission will remember those words when planning for the
observances of the 50th anniversary of the Brown decision. I hope those
words will remind all of us that we have yet to achieve the goals that
were set forth in that historic opinion.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join with me in
supporting this very important piece of legislation.
[[Page H5467]]
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today in support of H.R.
2133 which would establish a commission for the purpose of encouraging
and providing for the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary on May 17,
2004 of the Supreme Court's unanimous and landmark 1954 decision in
Brown v. the Board of Education.
While the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution
outlawed slavery, guaranteed rights of citizenship to naturalized
citizens and due process, equal protection and voting rights, nearly a
century would pass before the last vestiges of ``legalized''
discrimination and inequality would be effectively revoked. The right
of equal protection under the law for African-Americans was dealt a
heavy blow with the Supreme Court's 1875 decision to uphold a lower
court in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Plessy decision created the infamous
``separate but equal'' doctrine that made segregation
``constitutional'' for almost 80 years.
It was not until the 1950's, when the NAACP defense team led by the
Honorable Thurgood Marshall as general counsel, launched a national
campaign to challenge segregation at the elementary school level that
effective and lasting change was achieved. In five individually unique
cases filed in four states and the District of Columbia, the NAACP
defense team not only claimed that segregated schools told Black
children they were inferior to White children, but that the ``separate
by equal'' ruling in Plessy violated equal protection. Although all
five lost in the lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted each
case in turn, hearing them collectively in what became Brown v. Board
of Education.
The Brown decision brought a decisive end to segregation and
discrimination in our public school systems, and gradually our
national, cultural and social consciousness as well.
The first, however, did not end there. We may have overcome
segregation and racism, but now the fight is economic, one in which
some of our schools are inferior to others because of inadequate
funding, overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated school buildings and a
nationwide lack of teachers. We only have to look at the high levels of
crime, drug use, juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy and unemployment
to know the value of a good education. If Brown taught us anything, it
is that without the proper educational tools, young people lose hope
for the future.
No one challenges the concept of investing in human capital, but it
is a well-known fact that we spend ten times as much to incarcerate
then we do to educate. If we can find the resources to fund a tax cut
and for a U.S. prison system with nearly 2 million inmates, we can give
our public schools the repairs and facilities they desperately need, we
can reduce class sizes and provide adequate pay to attract the best and
brightest into the teaching profession.
I urge my colleagues here in the House to join me in remembering the
lessons of Brown v. Board of Education when we consider our national
priorities, by committing ourselves to addressing the unfulfilled
promises of equality and opportunity contained in the Brown decision.
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests
for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) that the House
suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R.
2133.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendments were
concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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