[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 69 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5505-S5510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

  Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I wish to take a few moments today--at 
least a few moments are justified--in offering some words to help the 
Nation celebrate the Brown v. Board of Education decision that occurred 
50 years ago. It is a good thing we remember and honor that decision. 
That case was the culmination of a strategy by the NAACP and others 
that attacked racial segregation at its heart and, by the way, also a 
decision that redeemed the Supreme Court's record in cases of this kind 
because we should not forget the Court had earlier placed its 
imprimatur on slavery in 1856 in the Dred Scott decision and had 
subsequently placed its imprimatur on the Jim Crow decision in Plessy 
v. Ferguson in 1896. It was, indeed, time in 1954 for the Supreme Court 
to stand up for the Constitution and live up to the promises of the 
Declaration of Independence, specifically the promise that all of us 
are created equal, at least in this sense: that we are equal in our 
right to enjoy the inalienable rights that Almighty God gives us simply 
by virtue of the fact that we are people and have human dignity.
  The history of the United States is, in one sense, a history of a 
progressive realization of that promise that in fact had been made in 
theory in the Declaration and also an understanding by the American 
people that unless that promise is realized and enjoyed by everybody, 
it is secure for nobody. Brown v. Board of Education was a milestone in 
that realization.
  I do want to make the point that the Supreme Court's decision in 
Brown was not an isolated act of courage by nine Justices, although it 
was certainly a

[[Page S5506]]

courageous decision. It was, as I said before, the culmination of a 
strategy by the NAACP, but also years of advocacy by that group and 
other groups around the country and thousands of Americans on their own 
who refused to accept the assumptions underlying racial segregation 
and, indeed, refused to let the American people go on year after year 
quietly and in an unthinking way accepting those assumptions.

  That activity by thousands and thousands of people in protests, in 
op-ed pieces, in books they wrote, in appearances on mass media, and 
just the way they conducted their day-to-day lives changed public 
opinion, by no means entirely in 1954 but enough so that the Brown v. 
Board of Education decision became possible, in a way that it would not 
have been possible--clearly was not possible in 1934 or even 1944.
  The same Supreme Court, staffed by the same nine Justices, would not 
and did not issue a decision such as Brown v. Board of Education 20 
years earlier or 10 years earlier because those people had not yet done 
enough of their work to move enough of the American people toward the 
right conclusion that that decision became possible.
  In that sense, I suggest that people such as Jackie Robinson and 
others around the country probably did more to desegregate the schools 
than the Supreme Court did in Brown v. Board of Education, and 
certainly people such as Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King did more 
to ensure the implementation in practice of the Brown v. Board of 
Education than the Federal courts did.
  I want to dedicate this day on which we justly celebrate the decision 
to the thousands of people, some who are recorded in history and some 
who have remained anonymous, who made that decision possible and helped 
correct a tremendous injustice and redeem America's honor before the 
bar of history.
  The Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education, changed laws, and 
that is hard, as we know in the Senate.
  Those other folks, in standing up for the rights of their fellow 
citizens, changed hearts, and that is even more difficult.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I rise to commemorate the 50th 
Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. Today, we celebrate the 
historic and unanimous Supreme Court decision that called for an end to 
racial segregation in schools throughout the nation. And as we honor 
those individuals who risked so much to challenge discrimination and 
establish a constitutional right to an equal education, I am filled 
with both hope and promise. Hope that the legacy of Brown will endure. 
Hope that equality and opportunity will soon be the reality for 
millions of school children who today still face segregation and 
inequality in their schools. And the promise that today we will renew 
our commitment to achieving the goal of equality that began 50 years 
ago with the Brown decision.
  I am so proud to honor today the important role that the great state 
of Maryland played in this history of Brown. Maryland is the birthplace 
of Thurgood Marshall, the architect of the blueprint to end racial 
segregation in education. Thurgood Marshall grew up and attended 
racially segregated schools in Baltimore, he knew the impact of 
segregation first hand, and he took the fight for racial justice all 
the way to the Supreme Court. His thoughtful and strategic legal 
arguments were instrumental in knocking down racial segregation in our 
country. Maryland is also the home of the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People. Founded in 1909, the NAACP successfully 
fought to integrate the University of Maryland in 1935 and its leaders 
painstakingly planned and organized the challenge to racial segregation 
in public schools.
  Brown marks a momentous beginning in American history. For the first 
time, the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to an equal 
public education for all students. And for the first time, the Supreme 
Court recognized that separate can never be equal. Brown is the 
foundation on the road to dismantling segregation in our society. The 
fight for equality started with the schools and progressed through the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair 
Housing Act of 1968--all critical steps to rid the nation of 
segregation and disparities it fostered. Yet 50 years later we're still 
a long way from the promise of Brown v. Board of Education--equality in 
public education and opportunity for all students.
  Why was the Brown decision so important? Because the Supreme Court 
said that regardless of race, color, creed or ethnicity education ``is 
a right which must be made available to all students.'' The Brown Court 
took the unprecedented step of examining how African-American children 
were being educated and the environments that they were learning in. 
And for the first time the Court used social science research to show 
that learning is compromised by segregation--and as a result Black 
students were receiving inferior educations. It was clear that poor 
schools, which invariably lacked resources, resulted in a lower quality 
of education for Black students than their white counterparts. Most 
importantly, the Brown decision, with a mighty hand, challenged 
Americans to confront the discrimination, segregation and inequality 
that existed in schools and in their communities.
  Today, I urge Americans to renew that challenge. We must address the 
growing disparities in our schools and the re-segregation of students 
of color in our classrooms. Even a quick glance at our Nation's 
schools, including schools in Maryland, shows that the promise of Brown 
has not been realized. We know that students are still segregated--and 
that schools still are not equal. Students of color and poor students 
are more likely to be in overcrowded schools, without enough books and 
computers, in buildings that are often literally falling apart. They 
are often sidelined into special education classes--when what they 
really need is special attention.
  I don't want the quality of education to depend on a family's income 
or the location they live in. As the Brown Court understood, having 
adequate resources and decent facilities matters. We need to make sure 
we have a public school system that works. That means smaller classes, 
a good teacher in every classroom, and making sure schools have 
resources to meet special needs--like bilingual education and special 
education. We need to keep fighting against the soft bigotry of low 
expectation.
  Today, as we commemorate the Brown decision and the progress that has 
been made in the past 50 years, we renew our commitment to increase 
diversity and provide educational opportunities for all children 
regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status. We must stand up 
for what America stands for: opportunity, equality, and empowerment. We 
must make sure there is no discrimination of any kind, anywhere in the 
United States of America--whether it is the old fashioned kind or the 
new fashioned kind. That means saying no to continued racial 
discrimination in education, and saying no to racial sidelining: 
pushing children of color into special education. Brown established 
education as a right to all students. We must continue to fight to 
protect that right, to make sure that the promise of an equal education 
is, in fact, a reality for all school children.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, 50 years ago, a third grade girl named 
Linda walked a full mile each way to school, crossing through a 
dangerous railroad switchyard to do it. Only five blocks from her home 
was a very nice local school, but when her father petitioned for her 
admission, he was denied.
  Why?
  Because she was not white.
  Fortunately, her father would not give up, and because of his 
tenacity, 50 years later, we can celebrate the landmark decision of 
Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education.
  Since Thurgood Marshall argued his most important case involving over 
200 plaintiffs in front of the same bench that he would later sit on, 
we have made great strides.
  We have done away with the ridiculous idea that separate could ever 
be equal. We have legalized desegregation. Colleges and universities 
are becoming increasingly more diverse as parents who did not attend 
college are now able to send their children to institutions of higher 
education.
  But there is so much more still to do. Until children of all 
backgrounds receive the same quality of teaching, have access to the 
same quality of

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learning resources, and graduate from high school and secondary 
education at the same rate, our work is not finished.
  Despite the Supreme Court's declaration in that landmark decision 
that education ``is a right which must be made available to all on 
equal terms,'' our country still remains far from providing an equal 
education to all.
  Fortunately, I know we have the ability to change this and to ensure 
all children a first-rate education. We are the greatest and richest 
country in the world. We have the ability to make sure that our 
elementary and secondary schools are the best in the world.
  We also need to make sure the doors to higher education remain open 
for all. We have the best universities and colleges in the world, and 
students from all over the globe dream about attending college in the 
U.S.
  The result of the University of Michigan case went a long way towards 
keeping the hope of higher education open to all Americans. While the 
Brown case defined our parents' era, the current generation's battle is 
to move beyond the legalization of desegregation and make sure it 
actually happens, with the help of affirmative action.
  I am pleased the Supreme Court upheld the efforts of the University 
of Michigan to promote diversity in university admissions. Education is 
the most effective tool and the critical first step to empowerment. 
Education is the tool that allows students to comprehend the world 
around them, and provides them the know-how to provide themselves with 
a superior quality of life.
  We need to keep it going. Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the 
Children's Defense Fund and the first woman admitted to the Mississippi 
bar, once remarked, ``A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther 
King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back--but they are gone. We are it. It 
is up to us. It is up to you.''
  She is right. It is up to us to continue Dr. King's, Mr. Brown's, and 
everyone's journey for full equality.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today marks the anniversary of one of the 
most important milestones in American history. Fifty years ago today, 
on May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 
Brown v. Board of Education that separate was not equal in our schools.
  This landmark ruling established the principle of equality in our 
laws and launched a national wave of racial integration and progress 
toward racial equality. We are all familiar with the laws that have 
been erased from the books, mandating separate and inferior facilities, 
services and treatment for African Americans. Americans can be proud 
that we have made progress against the evils of segregation. Today 
African Americans can live in any neighborhood they want, send their 
children to integrated schools, eat, drink, read, sleep, travel and 
enjoy recreation and entertainment in all the places every other 
American can.
  These changes mark major progress, but the road to equality has never 
been quick or easy. James McClinton, the new African American mayor of 
Topeka, KS where the Brown case originated, was quoted recently in the 
Washington Post noting that the legacy of the decision is both fragile 
and incomplete. Just a year after the Brown decision, the Supreme Court 
issued another case known as Brown II, which led many school districts 
to drag their feet for years before integrating. We all remember when 
President Eisenhower had to send the military to Central High School to 
protect its first African American students, and the sacrifices African 
American students made to attend formerly all-white colleges and 
universities. The truth is, we still have a long way to go. Today is a 
day to celebrate the progress we have made, and the breakthrough Brown 
v. Board represented for racial and educational equality in America. 
But we cannot afford to just rest on our accomplishments since 1954. We 
must also look forward to 2054, and ask ourselves what opportunities we 
want our children and grandchildren to have then, and what they need us 
to do now to achieve those goals.
  In 2004, African American students--as well as their counterparts in 
the Hispanic and Native American communities--are not performing as 
well as white students in our schools. I want to cite some statistics 
to paint a clear picture of what is going on in our schools. We first 
must wake up to the established, continuing and disturbing trend of 
resegregation. Studies have found that our schools have reached their 
peak of integration and now may be moving back to becoming 
resegregated. As we commemorate the Brown decision, we cannot afford to 
ignore this continued segregation. The National Assessment of 
Educational Progress found that while 74 percent of white fourth-grade 
students were good readers, barely half that many--39 percent of black 
fourth-graders earned the same designation. We have school buildings in 
disrepair and overcrowded classrooms, which not only makes teaching 
difficult, but sends minority and low-income students a powerful 
message that we do not value them or their education. Minority students 
are also much more likely to be in special or remedial education. In 
1994, 31 percent of African American, 24 percent of Hispanic and 35 
percent of Native American high school graduates took remedial classes, 
while only 15 percent of white and Asian American high school graduates 
did. Minority students make up 40 percent of our school-age population 
but just 14 percent of their teachers are minorities. According to the 
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, white students are significantly 
more likely to have access to advanced academic programs than minority 
children and children with disabilities in the same school district, 
regardless of how wealthy or poor the district is. Our national high 
school graduation rate is an inadequate 69 percent, but when you dig 
deeper you learn that we are graduating barely half our minority 
students in this country--just 53 percent of Hispanic students, 51 
percent of Native American students, and 50 percent of African American 
students.
  It should surprise no one that if minority students don't perform 
well in high school, they will perform less well in college. As of 
1999, white students were literally twice as likely as Hispanic and 
African American students to earn a Bachelor's degree. Both minority 
groups are underrepresented on America's college campuses. Not only is 
there a racial achievement gap, but that gap has actually widened in 
the last generation. In the 28 years from 1971 to 1999, the proportion 
of white high school students who earned at least a Bachelor's degree 
increased 13 points, to 36 percent. The proportion for African American 
students increased 5 points to 17 percent, and the share of Hispanic 
students rose 4 points to 14 percent. Imagine the larger social and 
economic consequences of these populations not going to or graduating 
from college, especially when our racial diversity is growing rapidly. 
We all know that you will earn a lot more money if you have a 
Bachelor's degree, and that American economic competitiveness in a 
globalizing economy depends on high-skill, high-wage jobs. We need to 
keep up our efforts to make sure that the color of someone's skin does 
not determine their opportunity to succeed.
  If we are to ensure that children of color have an equal opportunity 
to go to college, get their degree and achieve the American dream, we 
must address the academic deficiencies in our high schools. Roughly 
half our minority students are graduating from high school, which means 
that nearly half are also dropping out. The No Child Left Behind Act, 
which I supported, requires for the first time that much of the 
academic achievement data we collect on our schools be separated, 
disaggregated, by race, students with disabilities, limited English 
proficiency, and students from low-income families. This step forward 
is critical to track achievement gaps and their trends over time. 
Disaggregated data is an important tool we need to target assistance 
and resources to reduce and eliminate racial achievement gaps. Yet 
currently the Department of Education is not requiring disaggregation 
of data on dropouts. This information is critical if we really want to 
reduce dropout rates and improve graduation rates for all students. I 
strongly urge Secretary Paige and the Department of Education to report 
disaggregation of dropout data.
  We also know from numerous studies that the gaps between test scores 
of

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low-income and middle-income students could be eliminated if all 
students had highly qualified teachers. If fully funded, the No Child 
Left Behind Act would put highly qualified teachers in all our 
classrooms, but, unfortunately, an amendment I offered on the budget 
resolution earlier this year to fully fund the Act, failed on a party-
line vote. But even when No Child Left Behind is fully funded, as I 
hope it is next year, our work will still not be done with regards to 
our high schools.
  That is why last summer I introduced S.1554, the Pathways for All 
Students to Succeed--PASS, Act. The PASS Act seeks to eliminate 
dropout, achievement and graduation gaps among our high school 
students. The PASS Act does three things. First, it will help students 
learn to read and write by providing $1 billion to help schools hire 
literacy coaches. Second, my bill ensures students are taking the 
classes and getting the support they need to finish school. It provides 
$2 billion for academic and career counselors to ensure students have a 
personalized plan for completing high school and going on to college. 
Finally, my bill provides extra help to schools that need it most. It 
provides $500 million in grants to help improve low-performing schools 
improve. I hope that the Senate will pass this bill this year.
  The Brown v. Board decision was a momentous achievement for our 
Nation, and I am honored to mark its 50th anniversary today. At the 
same time, we must take the momentum of this celebration to fulfill the 
promise of Brown by ensuring that all our children have access to the 
highest quality education worthy of our great Nation.
  Mr. GRAHAM of South Carolina. Mr. President, I rise today in honor of 
the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. 
Board of Education which declared separate but equal unconstitutional. 
I believe that ensuring that our public schools are open to everyone is 
a great equalizer in America.
  I will soon be turning 49, and I know that having an integrated 
school system has enriched my generation by allowing all of us in South 
Carolina to learn, socialize, and compete together in a public school 
setting.
  The brave men and women who fought to end the segregation of public 
schools have done a great service to South Carolina and our nation. It 
is appropriate they be honored accordingly and all of us should commit 
ourselves to build upon their legacy.
  I join you and my colleagues in the U.S. Senate in commemorating this 
historic decision.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, today marks the 50th anniversary of Brown 
vs. Board of Education, a U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision that 
sent shockwaves through the educational establishment. For the first 
time, the highest court in the country decided that ``separate 
educational facilities are inherently unequal'' and a violation of the 
14th Amendment.
  Before Brown vs. Board of Education, Indianapolis Public Schools had 
been forced by State law to scrap separate black and white schools. 
That change, however, did not necessarily result in integrated 
classrooms. Segregated communities left most of our schools racially 
homogeneous.
  It was in this environment that I was elected to the Indianapolis 
Public School Board in 1964. Like much of the country, Indianapolis was 
experiencing the civil rights movement, and the Indianapolis Public 
Schools were in the middle of it all.
  Our meetings were picketed and protested, and citizens staged ``sit-
ins'' at the downtown headquarters. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled on 
May 17, 1954, that separate but equal could not stand; yet in the 10 
years that followed, IPS had not done much to integrate its schools.
  To further the discussion, and to seek input on what would later 
become known as the Shortridge Plan; I held neighborhood meetings in 
school buildings around Indianapolis to discuss ideas for peacefully 
integrating the city schools. At one such meeting on the near Westside, 
participants literally picked up the furniture and threw it at each 
other. The police had to be called to restore order.
  Later, the Shortridge Plan was adopted by the board, but not 
enthusiastically. Under the Shortridge Plan, IPS was to establish a 
college preparatory high school that would voluntarily draw the best 
and the brightest from all over Indianapolis, regardless of race. Some 
board members, and the community at large, saw this step as far too 
disruptive. Those individuals felt that the school board should not be 
involved in matters of race and sociology.
  The plan worked because young Hoosiers responded. Before the plan was 
implemented, Shortridge was 90 percent African American, 10 percent 
Caucasian. The racial makeup of the applicants to the first entering 
class under the new plan was astounding: 53 percent Caucasian, 47 
percent African American. In a year, the school became a national 
example of how young African American and Caucasian students could 
through their own individual choices come together to learn and study.
  Unfortunately, in my second year of service on the board, 
polarization set in. A majority of the Board no longer felt that we 
should be involved in questions of race. In an election for president 
of the board, I lost 4-3. The issue of race, however, could not be 
avoided. Years later, the Federal courts implemented an involuntary 
busing system that forced our schools to seek some racial balance.
  Brown vs. Board of Education set us, and the rest of the Nation, on 
an important path. While the Court opinion outlawed the notion of 
``separate but equal,'' it persuaded us to address the larger issue of 
living together as one society. Brown v. Board of Education helped us 
to become a better Nation. But we still have much work to do.
  Today, we face a different type of segregation; namely, the gap 
between those who receive a quality education and those who do not. The 
gap in reading achievement between blacks and whites is staggering 
nationally. It is 28 percentage points at the 4th-grade level. The gap 
in reading achievement between Hispanics and whites is also alarming 
nationally, 29 percentage points at the 4th-grade level. We are 
experiencing two education systems--separate and unequal. This is 
unacceptable.
  The Federal Government's first major entry into public education was 
in 1965 when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed to 
provide Federal aid to school districts with large percentages of 
children in poverty. The intent was to help level the playing field--to 
give extra aid to those children most in need. Despite a discretionary 
funding amount of $55.6 billion in fiscal year 2004, increased from 
$35.6 billion in 2000, achievement gaps have remained wide.
  To help close these gaps and to help ensure that all children have an 
equal opportunity to learn, Congress and the Administration worked 
together to pass the No Child Left Behind education reform act in 2002.
  Under No Child Left Behind, States must describe how they will close 
the achievement gap and make sure that all students, including those 
who are physically disadvantaged, achieve academic proficiency. In 
addition, they must produce annual State and school district report 
cards that inform parents and communities about State and school 
progress. Schools that do not make progress must provide supplemental 
services, such as free tutoring or after-school assistance. If 
corrective actions do not yield adequate progress after 5 years, 
schools must make dramatic changes in the management.
  The idea is not to establish Federal control over the schools, but 
simply to push States and local school districts to take a hard look at 
each school's strong and weak points.
  In many schools, an overall high performance has often hidden a weak 
performance by some student sub-groups. Because of this dynamic, the 
act requires that each sub-group be reported separately. Overlooking 
the fact that only one in six African Americans graduate with 
proficient reading skills is simply not acceptable.
  Some have complained about the increased focus on school testing. But 
if we want each child to earn a meaningful high school degree, testing 
in lower grades is an important tool to reveal the strengths and 
weaknesses of each school. Testing allows schools to learn which 
students need help and what subjects must be taught better.
  We all have the same goal--to improve our schools. All students must 
have the opportunity to get ahead, regardless of race or residence. On 
May

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17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously declared that separate but 
equal could not stand as the law of the land. It is our job--50 years 
later--to make sure that we are faithful to this principle of equal 
opportunity. The success of all of our children and the economic future 
of our country depend on our determination.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I speak today on the 50th anniversary of 
the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision, Brown v. Board of 
Education. I join with all Americans in celebrating this decision, 
which, in many ways, inspired the modern civil rights movement.
  In Brown, the Supreme Court upheld the right of all children to an 
equal education in our public schools. In its unanimous opinion, the 
Court stated ``[w]e conclude that in the field of public education the 
doctrine of `separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational 
facilities are inherently unequal.'' With these historic words, the 
doors of public schools were required to be opened to all children, 
regardless of their race, and efforts to end segregation in other 
aspects of American society gained momentum.
  The slow integration of our public schools has been a difficult and 
sometimes painful process, with some clinging to any mechanism by which 
this process could be slowed or circumvented. The promise of children 
of all races and backgrounds coming together to study and to prepare 
for their futures has too often been clouded by the prejudices of 
adults. And while great strides have been made in the last 50 years, 
much work remains to be done to ensure that the phrase ``separate but 
equal'' is at long last relegated to the history books.
  One of the most serious challenges facing public schools today is the 
No Child Left Behind, NCLB, Act, which includes a Federal testing 
mandate that has become an added burden for students and school 
districts.
  Wisconsinites are concerned about this additional layer of testing 
for many reasons, including the cost of developing and implementing 
these tests, the loss of teaching time every year to prepare for and 
take the tests, and the extra pressure that the tests will place on 
students, teachers, schools, and school districts.
  Instead of piling more tests on public school students, concerned 
parents, teachers and school administrators want to know when the 
Federal Government is going to provide the funding it promised for 
education programs. While I have worked with many of my colleagues in 
the Senate to provide more of this funding, Congress still falls far 
short of providing the resources that students need. And schools are 
left to face mandate after mandate without the funding that they need 
to carry those mandates out.
  No Child Left Behind not only adds to that list of Federal mandates, 
it also can impose harsh sanctions on schools that do not meet yearly 
goals, even though the programs that would help students and schools to 
meet those goals are not fully funded. Lagging test scores at a given 
school may mean that the school is labeled as ``failing,'' which can 
have serious, negative consequences for a school that may already be 
struggling.
  I support a bill introduced by my colleague Senator Durbin, which 
takes a different approach to the issue. This legislation seeks to 
ensure that schools get the funding they need to implement the mounting 
Federal mandates they face. The bill sets a minimum amount of funding 
that the Federal Government must provide for the Title I program, which 
supports programs for low-income and disadvantaged students. If a 
school doesn't get the minimum funding, it shouldn't be subject to the 
penalties that schools can receive under the NCLB law, and the Durbin 
bill would exempt schools from sanctions in any year that Title I is 
not funded at this minimum level.
  As we saw when nationwide test results came in last fall, the legacy 
of Brown will not be fulfilled until we can close the gap on the racial 
disparities that persist in test results and also in graduation rates. 
Nor will education truly be equal for all students as long as we 
underfund special education programs and other programs critical to 
supporting students who are struggling to succeed in the classroom.
  If lagging test scores prove that too many children are being left 
behind, the answer isn't to label them as failures. We must give those 
students the resources they need to succeed in school. Congress and the 
administration must do more to ensure that schools have the resources 
to help these students catch up with their peers before students are 
required to take additional annual tests required under the No Child 
Left Behind Act--tests that will have serious consequences for their 
schools. The legacy of the Brown decision is an education for all 
children on ``equal terms.'' Either we ensure that great legacy, or we 
fail the children who need our support the most.
  The decision in Brown was one step in the continuing journey to 
America that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dreamed would be ``a nation 
where [his children] will not be judged by the color of their skin but 
by the content of their character.'' A few years after the Brown 
decision, Congress began to do its part to combat inequality. It passed 
civil rights laws ensuring the right to vote to all Americans, banning 
discrimination in employment based on race, ethnicity, religion, 
national origin or gender, and prohibiting discrimination in public and 
private housing.
  Our Nation has come a long way since 1954, but we still have work to 
do. Congress and the administration have a particular responsibility to 
advance the cause of freedom, justice, and equality for all Americans. 
Congress and the President can demonstrate their support for freedom 
and justice by supporting civil rights initiatives that have been 
ignored for far too long.

  Perhaps no issue on this agenda is more urgent than racial profiling. 
Racial profiling is the insidious practice by which some law 
enforcement agents stop African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, 
Arab Americans and others simply because of their race, ethnicity, or 
national origin. Reports in states from New Jersey to Florida, and 
Maryland to Texas all show that African Americans, Hispanics, and 
members of other minority groups are being stopped by some police at 
rates far in excess of their share of the population and the rate at 
which they engage in criminal conduct.
  I might add that the urgency for banning racial profiling is 
compounded by concerns post-September 11 that racial profiling--instead 
of good police work and following up on legitimate leads--is being used 
more frequently against Arabs, Muslims, or Americans perceived to be 
Arab or Muslim.
  President Bush pledged to end racial profiling over 3 years ago 
during his first address to a joint session of Congress. Attorney 
General John Ashcroft also has acknowledged the damage caused by racial 
profiling and called for an end to the practice. It is time for the 
administration to move this effort forward.
  Representative John Conyers, the distinguished ranking member of the 
House Judiciary Committee, and I have reintroduced our bill, the End 
Racial Profiling Act. Our bill bans racial profiling and requires 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to take steps to 
prevent the practice. This bill should be one of the top agenda items 
this Congress and the Administration should follow through on its 
promise to address this issue.
  The vast majority of law enforcement agents fulfill their duties 
professionally and without bias and we are all indebted to them for 
their courage and dedication. Racial profiling is ineffective and 
undermines their efforts to serve and protect all Americans.
  In addition to passing the End Racial Profiling Act, Congress and the 
President should also address a range of civil rights-related issues in 
this Congress--from education, to welfare, to a fair wage for an honest 
day's work, to improving our criminal justice system.
  Congress should do more to ensure that federally funded programs 
comply with civil rights and other laws. In particular, we must improve 
the Federal welfare law to require that each State's program treats all 
applicants and clients fairly. While Congress rightly encouraged state-
level innovation with the 1996 welfare law, we should use the pending 
reauthorization of that law as an opportunity to ensure that all State 
plans conform to uniform Federal fair treatment and due process 
protections for all applicants and clients.

[[Page S5510]]

  Congress should ensure that all Americans get a fair wage for an 
honest day's work. Too often, parents work double shifts or more than 
one job for low wages in order to make ends meet and to provide the 
basic necessities for their families. We must at last increase the 
Federal minimum wage. We must work to close the wage gap between women 
and men.
  Congress should also take action to ensure fairness and justice in 
the administration of the death penalty. We know that the 
administration of the death penalty at the Federal and State levels is 
flawed. With over 100 innocent people on death row later exonerated in 
the modern death penalty era, any reasonable person can see that the 
current system risks executing the innocent. That is why Congress 
should pass the National Death Penalty Moratorium Act. Congress and the 
President should support a moratorium on executions while a national, 
blue ribbon commission reviews the fairness of the administration of 
the death penalty.
  Congress can also do more to protect hardworking Americans from 
discrimination in the workplace. We should pass the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act. I have been pleased to join my colleague Senator 
Kennedy in sponsoring this important bill that will ensure that 
Americans are not discriminated against by employers based on their 
sexual orientation. It is time that we take this step on behalf of 
equal opportunity and equal rights.
  Congress should also take another step to ensure that all Americans 
have the right to vote and to be represented in their Congress. We meet 
today in a jurisdiction where over a half a million people are denied 
the right to fully participate in their Government. The majority of the 
people in this jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, are African 
American. Shutting them out of our Government is a continuing moral 
stain on our nation that must be addressed. We should take action on 
legislation sponsored by Senator Lieberman and myself, under DC 
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's leadership, to grant full 
congressional representation for the District of Columbia.
  Congress and the administration must take concrete steps to protect 
Americans' civil rights.
  As Dr. King said, ``This is no time to engage in the luxury of 
cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the 
time to make real the promises of democracy.''
  Mr. President, let us make real the promises of democracy and of 
Brown--a nation with liberty, justice, and equality for all. Let's 
begin that work in this Congress, in this body, and let's begin now.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to speak for up to 20 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Thank you, Mr. President.

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