[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5022-S5023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING AND HONORING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUPREME COURT 
           DECISION IN BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 349, and 
the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 349) recognizing and honoring May 17, 
     2004, as the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision 
     in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.


[[Page S5023]]


  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider 
be laid upon the table en bloc, with no intervening action or debate, 
and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 349) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 349

       Whereas May 17, 2004, marks the 50th anniversary of the 
     Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of 
     Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954);
       Whereas in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 
     537 (1896), the Supreme Court upheld the doctrine of 
     ``separate but equal'', which allowed the continued 
     segregation of common carriers, and, by extension, of public 
     schools, in the United States based on race;
       Whereas racial segregation and the doctrine of ``separate 
     but equal'' resulted in separate schools, housing, and public 
     accommodations that were inferior and unequal for African-
     Americans and many other minorities, severely limited the 
     educational opportunities of generations of racial 
     minorities, negatively impacted the lives of the people of 
     the United States, and inflicted severe harm on American 
     society;
       Whereas in 1945, Mexican-American students in California 
     successfully challenged the constitutionality of their 
     segregation on the basis of national origin in Westminster 
     School District of Orange County v. Mendez (161 F.2d 774 (9th 
     Cir. 1947));
       Whereas in 1951, Oliver Brown, on behalf of his daughter 
     Linda Brown, an African-American third grader, filed suit 
     against the Board of Education of Topeka after Linda was 
     denied admission to an all-white public school in Topeka, 
     Kansas;
       Whereas in 1952, the Supreme Court combined Oliver Brown's 
     case (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 98 F. Supp. 797 
     (D. Kan. 1951)) with similar cases from Delaware (Gebhart v. 
     Belton, 91 A.2d 137 (Del. 1952)), South Carolina (Briggs v. 
     Elliott, 98 F. Supp. 529 (E.D.S.C. 1951)), and Virginia 
     (Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, 103 F. 
     Supp. 337 (E.D. Va. 1952)) challenging racial segregation in 
     education and determined that the constitutionality of 
     segregation in public schools in the District of Columbia 
     would be considered separately in Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 
     497 (1954);
       Whereas the students in these cases argued that the 
     inequality caused by the segregation of public schools was a 
     violation of their right to equal protection under the law;
       Whereas on May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education of 
     Topeka, the Supreme Court overturned the decision of Plessy 
     v. Ferguson, concluding that ``in the field of public 
     education, the doctrine of `separate but equal' has no 
     place'' and, on that same date, in Bolling v. Sharpe, held 
     that the doctrine of ``separate but equal'' also violated the 
     fifth amendment to the Constitution; and
       Whereas the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of 
     Topeka is of national importance and profoundly affected all 
     people of the United States by outlawing racial segregation 
     in education and providing a foundation on which to build 
     greater equality: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes and honors May 17, 2004, as the 50th 
     anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board 
     of Education of Topeka;
       (2) encourages all people of the United States to recognize 
     the importance of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. 
     Board of Education of Topeka; and
       (3) acknowledges the need for the Nation to recommit to the 
     goals and purposes of this landmark decision to finally 
     realize the dream of equal educational opportunity for all 
     children of the United States.

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