[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 14, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H4126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING 49TH ANNIVERSARY OF BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION DECISION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Chocola). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 49th anniversary 
of the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision. On May 17, 1954, 
the Supreme Court unanimously declared that separate educational 
facilities are inherently unequal and as such violate the 14th 
amendment to the United States Constitution which guarantees all 
citizens equal protection of the law.
  This is one of the most important legal decisions for human rights in 
American history. This battle, however, did not occur overnight. The 
struggle for equality for African Americans began over three centuries 
prior to Brown v. Board of Education. In the United States from the 
early 1600s to the 1860s, peoples of African descent sought the most 
fundamental of rights, individual freedom. Despite the 1863 
Emancipation Proclamation and gains made by the 13th amendment, which 
outlawed slavery, African Americans remained in economic and social 
bondage enforced by segregation. Even the passage of the 14th 
amendment, which guaranteed equal protection under the law, and the 
15th amendment, which afforded African Americans voting rights, did 
little to abridge de facto segregation policies.
  In 1849, the father of 5-year-old Sarah Roberts initiated the legal 
battles for equality in education. Sarah would walk past five white 
elementary schools to Smith Grammar School, a segregated school in 
Boston. Smith was badly run down, so Sarah's father unsuccessfully 
tried to enroll her in one of the white schools. He selected African-
American attorney Robert Morris, who was joined by noted abolitionist 
Charles Sumner, to represent his case, Roberts v. City of Boston. 
Similar cases occurred throughout the United States involving American 
children of African, Asian, Hispanic and Native descent in the wake of 
Roberts v. City of Boston.
  Not until 12:52 p.m. on May 17, 1954, did a court decide in favor of 
the plaintiff in any of these cases. On this day, the Supreme Court 
rejected the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision ruling, stating, ``We 
conclude that in the field of public education, the doctrine of 
separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are 
inherently unequal.'' Segregation and Jim Crow were legally dead.
  Yet as we celebrate this victory, we must acknowledge that we are 
still making strides to attain equal opportunity in education. As de 
jure segregation faded, pre-Jim Crow economic conditions remained which 
perpetuated de facto segregation that continues in many cities to this 
day. These conditions continue to negatively affect the educational 
opportunities of many of our Nation's African-American children. We 
cannot deny that Brown v. Board of Education afforded African Americans 
a better chance to receive a quality education. We cannot deny the 
rising statistics of African Americans going to college and obtaining 
postgraduate degrees. We also cannot deny the ever-increasing median 
income of African Americans or the rise of African-American business 
owners and professionals, all of which are directly related to 
educational opportunities. However, we also cannot deny that the gap 
between white and African-American achievement remains substantial. 
Black people continue to graduate from college at half the rate of 
white people.
  It is unfortunate that after all these years, we are still in an 
uphill battle over full inclusion in our Nation's society. This is why 
we must do more than commemorate this decision. We are obliged to be 
forever proactive in ensuring that the last vestiges of Jim Crow are 
extinguished and do not return.
  Mr. Speaker, on April 1, 2003, over 50,000 people, including 10,000 
from Michigan alone, rallied in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 
favor of the University of Michigan's affirmative action policy.
  Mr. Speaker, we hope that we are on the brink of a new day when it 
comes to quality education.
  Affirmative Action in higher education was put in place to not only 
encourage diversity, but to be a minor step in the direction of justice 
after hundreds of years of institutional and social discrimination 
against women and people of color in the United States. Similar to the 
1954 case, the justices recognized in the 1978 Bakke case that the most 
effective way to cure society of exclusionary practices is to make 
special efforts at inclusion, which is exactly what affirmative action 
does.
  Mr. Speaker, as we reflect on the half century mark of Brown v. the 
Board of Education, I encourage all of my colleagues to take note of 
the fact that this court victory was not just a victory for African-
American and other minorities. It was a victory for all Americans. 
Fifty years later we must remain mindful of these hard-won freedoms and 
vigilant in our protection of these hard-won gains.

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