[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 69 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            50TH ANNIVERSARY OF BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 17, 2004

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
honor of the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. 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.''
  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 here in 
Washington, around this nation and Topeka, Kansas for commemorating 
this significant 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 $9.4 billion short of the funding 
commitment made in No Child Left Behind to K-12 education for Fiscal 
Year 2005. In my home State of Texas, the President's budget will 
impact math and reading programs for 205,157 children.
  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.
  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.
  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.

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