[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 73 (Thursday, May 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E959]]
          THE 49TH ANNIVERSARY OF BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 14, 2003

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
honor of the 49th Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education decision, 
which declared segregation of public schools illegal. The case was 
sparked by Linda Brown, a black girl denied admission into a white 
elementary public school in Topeka, Kansas. The NAACP took up her case, 
along with similar ones in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and 
Delaware. All five cases were argued together in December, 1952 by 
Thurgood Marshall.
  I am proud to stand here today in honor of one of our country's 
pioneers in the history of civil rights. Before serving 24 years as the 
first African-American on the United States Supreme Court, Thurgood 
Marshall served as legal director of the NAACP. Marshall was once asked 
for a definition of ``equal'' by Justice Frankfurter. He responded, 
``Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time, at the same 
place.''
  As a tribute to Thurgood Marshall and his lifelong plight, the 
Congressional Black Caucus, Microsoft and the Thurgood Marshall 
Scholarship Fund recently announced the creation of the Thurgood 
Marshall Scholarship Fund Technology Initiative. This initiative will 
support technology, training for students at public Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities.
  I am grateful to have contributed to the legacy of such a great 
American. As immediate past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, I 
am pleased that the seed planted under my administration has now 
blossomed into a fruitful initiative.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank all of my colleagues for 
being here today to commemorate this important event, so fundamental to 
our societal growth. I am here today because I believe that education 
must be our number one national priority. In my almost thirty years as 
a legislator, I have fought to ensure that education is at the 
forefront of the legislative agenda.
  The President has promised to ``leave no child behind,'' 
unfortunately, the current administration is not getting the message. 
The President's budget falls $9.7 billion dollars short of the funding 
commitment made in No Child Left Behind to K-12 education and $5.3 
billion dollars short of level provided in the Senate Appropriations 
bill for Fiscal Year 2004. How can we ask educators to meet high 
standards at the same time we hand them a budget that forces class size 
increases, cuts in academic programs, and teacher layoffs. Demanding 
more but paying less does not work.

  In fact, President Bush proposes a second year of historically low 
federal investments in educations, with an increase of only 5.6 
percent. This is contrast to the average increase of 13 percent over 
the past seven years. That doesn't even keep pace with inflation. The 
President's budget also cuts targeted funding for assistance for school 
dropouts and higher education programs.
  Other programs barely survive the budget chopping block--resources 
for teacher training, educational technology, after-school programs, 
and safe and drug-free schools are frozen; while for the second year in 
a row he allocates no money for school modernization.
  It is time we say, ``Enough is enough!'' We cannot afford to loose 
one more brilliant Black mind because the opportunity for a quality 
education was not available to him or her. Financial constraints should 
not hinder our youth from exploring knowledge and expanding their 
minds. We must make sure that the people we vote into office do not 
ignore our desire to educate our youth by selecting judicial nominees 
that rob us of equal access to education, just as it was robbed from us 
before Brown v. Board of Education. And we must educate the populace on 
legislation that threatens to take away our hardearned rights, rights 
that we should have never had to fight for in the first place, rights 
to receive equal and quality access and opportunity to education.
  Education is not a luxury item that can be trimmed when more enticing 
budget items beckon. It is an essential element that should be our 
highest national priority. Now is the time to increase education 
spending.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to close by asking my colleagues in the 
House of Representatives to join me in extending my appreciation to the 
legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Brown family, and all of the 
unsung heroes who worked so tirelessly for equality and justice in 
America's public institutions of learning.

                          ____________________