[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 85 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1177-E1178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO McKINLEY LANGFORD BURNETT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 18, 2004

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, our nation recently celebrated the fiftieth 
anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of 
Education, which struck down the ``separate but equal'' doctrine, 
holding that segregated public schools violated the equal protection 
provisions of our Constitution.
  As we honor the many intrepid Americans who fought for racial 
equality for many years in order to make the Brown decision a reality, 
I want to bring to your attention the important contribution to this 
effort made by McKinley Langford Burnett of Topeka, Kansas. The Brown 
decision was the fulfillment of a long fight over several years to 
assure equal education for children. McKinley Burnett began the Topeka, 
Kansas-based arm of this campaign in earnest in 1948, when he became 
president of the Topeka chapter of the National Association of Colored 
People [NAACP]. While earlier attempts had been made to challenge 
segregation in Topeka, by 1948 only Topeka High School was integrated, 
and that school had separate sports teams for white and black students. 
As an observer of the situation said of Burnett after the fact: ``He 
faced a school board and superintendent who believed that schools 
should remain segregated, black teachers afraid of losing their jobs, 
and many who just didn't want to rock the boat. They all faced McKinley 
Burnett, a man whose drive and determination kept him working for the 
day when schools would be open to all.''
  Born in Oskaloosa, Kansas, in 1897, McKinley Burnett faced 
discrimination throughout his early life: offered only parts as dancers 
or butlers in school plays; relegated to working as a supply clerk at 
the Veterans Administration; and turned down for a job as a route 
driver with a local bakery because of his race. In 1948, however, he 
became president of the Topeka chapter of the NAACP, in a community 
where separate schools for the races had been established in 1927. For 
2 years, Burnett held meetings and wrote letters seeking support for 
school desegregation, without success. According to Charles Baston, a 
member of the Topeka NAACP chapter, the school board would often extend 
its meetings by sitting and joking, hoping the NAACP members at the 
meeting would leave without speaking: ``We never left.''

  In 1950, the NAACP, under Burnett's leadership, recruited 13 black 
families to challenge segregation by sending their children to enroll 
in white-only schools. The 20 children, including 7-year-old Linda 
Brown of Topeka, were denied enrollment, and in February 1951 the NAACP 
filed suit. Three years later, the Supreme Court issued their landmark 
decision, in a case that also included suits from South Carolina, 
Delaware, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
  Burnett continued to serve as president of the Topeka NAACP chapter 
until 1963, dying in 1968. As Roy Wilkins of the NAACP said upon his 
death, in a telegram to Burnett's widow, Lea: ``Throughout the years he 
was in the vanguard of our fight for full citizenship rights. For more 
than a quarter century he served as President of the Topeka branch of 
the NAACP. During that period against seemingly insurmountable odds he 
was instrumental in initiating the school desegregation case of Linda 
Brown in Topeka which culminated in the historic Brown vs. Board of 
Education decision. He could have no better monument than this decision 
which changed the course of public education in our country.''
  Mr. Speaker, proclamations honoring the life of McKinley Langford 
Burnett were issued by the Topeka Board of Education, the Shawnee 
County, Kansas, Board of Commissioners, and the Governor of the State 
of Kansas. I include them in the Record, along with an Associated Press 
article summarizing Mr. Burnett's life and good works, and an editorial 
from the Topeka Capital Journal commending his life.

                            Resolution 01-06

       Whereas, McKinley Langford Burnett was a behind-the-scenes 
     force in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Brown vs. Board of 
     Education of Topeka case that dismantled the ``separate but 
     equal'' provisions for the education of African American 
     students in America's public schools; and
       Whereas, Mr. Burnett was the Topeka chapter president of 
     the NAACP from 1948-1963, concentrating his efforts on the 
     integration of Topeka Public Schools and with determination, 
     conviction and persistence challenged the Board of Education 
     to end segregated schools; and
       Whereas, Mr. Burnett was responsible for recruiting a group 
     of 13 black families to challenge segregation by sending 
     their children to enroll in all-white schools in the fall of 
     1950 and upon the denial of their enrollment, Mr. Burnett, 
     along with other NAACP officials and attorneys, developed a 
     strategy for a court case and filed suit against the School 
     Board through the local NAACP chapter, on behalf of the 
     families; and
       Whereas, three years later the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed 
     the case, which had been joined with four other school 
     desegregation lawsuits from South Carolina, Delaware, 
     Virginia and the District of Columbia, and on May 17, 1954 
     issued their landmark ruling that said ``separate educational 
     facilities are inherently unequal'' and that the separate but 
     equal doctrine had ``no place'' in public education; and
       Whereas, 40 years later, the Topeka Public Schools' Board 
     of Education entered into a school desegregation remedy plan 
     in the re-opened Brown case, successfully implemented the 
     remedy plan, and four years later, July 27, 1999, District 
     Court Judge Richard Rogers approved the district's motion for 
     unitary status and directed the case be closed; and
       Whereas, a committee appointed by the Superintendent of 
     Schools pursuant to Board Policy 2200 has recommended that 
     the unnamed Administrative Center of the Topeka Public 
     Schools be named in honor of Mr. Burnett.
       Now therefore, in recognition that Mr. Burnett's vision and 
     passion for educational justice for all children resulted in 
     Brown vs. The Board of Education, and has been felt in Topeka 
     and across the land,
       Be it resolved, on this 7th day of June, 2001 that the 
     Topeka Public Schools' Board of Education, to commemorate the 
     progress of educational equity initiated by Mr. Burnett in 
     the 1940's, immortalized by the 1954 Supreme Court, and 
     sustained in recent years by the courts and Topeka Public 
     Schools' Board of Education; and to honor this unsung hero 
     for his untiring efforts until his death in 1968, does hereby 
     name the Topeka Public Schools' Administrative Center, the: 
     ``McKinley L. Burnett Administrative Center.''
                                  ____


                              Proclamation

       Whereas, the late McKinley L. Burnett would have been 100 
     years old this year on January 31, 1997; and,
       Whereas, the original 1942 charter for the Topeka Branch of 
     the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
     People will be on display at the Topeka-Shawnee County 
     library between the hours of 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on May 
     17, 1997; and
       Whereas, on February 28, 1951 the NAACP led by McKinley 
     Burnett filed a lawsuit which resulted in the Historic 
     Supreme Court decision on May 17, 1954, Brown v. Topeka Board 
     of Education; and,
       Whereas, on Saturday, May 17, 1997, the Kansas Committee to 
     Commemorate Brown v. Education and Bias Busters of Kansas 
     will observe the 43rd anniversary of the Historic Supreme 
     Court Decision at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public 
     Library at 4:00 p.m.; and,
       Whereas, at the Committee's annual observance, a special 
     ceremony on this day, tribute will be paid to McKinley L. 
     Burnett, president of the Topeka Branch of the National 
     Association for the Advancement of

[[Page E1178]]

     Colored people with a Pictorial Stamp Cancellation; and,
       Whereas, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education is recognized 
     as the Civil Rights Case of the Century by overturning Plessy 
     v. Ferguson, and deciding that ``Separate is not necessarily 
     equal''; and,
       Whereas, this Nation has become a great Nation because of 
     the contributions of many people of different races and 
     nationalities, all giving their best to make our Country what 
     it is today; and,
       Whereas, frequently we become so involved in our daily 
     tasks that we neglect to say ``Thank You'' to those who give 
     their time and energy to benefit others.
       Now, therefore, the Board of County Commissioners of the 
     County of Shawnee, Kansas, meeting in regular session on this 
     15th day of May, 1997, does hereby proclaim May 17, 1997 as 
     McKinley L. Burnett Day in Shawnee County and invite the 
     participation of every section of the population regardless 
     of race, color, creed, or religion.
                                  ____


                            State of Kansas

       Whereas, The late McKinley L. Burnett would have been 100 
     years old on January 31, 1997; and
       Whereas, On May 17, the Kansas Committee to Commemorate 
     Brown v. Topeka Board of Education and Bias Busters of Kansas 
     will observe the 43rd anniversary of the Historic Supreme 
     Court Decision. At the Committee's annual observance, a 
     special tribute will be paid to McKinley L. Burnett with a 
     Pictorial Stamp Cancellation; and
       Whereas, The original 1942 charter for the Topeka Branch of 
     the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
     People will be on display at the Topeka-Shawnee County 
     Library on May 17, 1997; and
       Whereas, Brown v. Topeka Board of Education is recognized 
     as the Civil Rights Case of the Century by overturning Plessy 
     v. Ferguson, and deciding that ``separate is not necessarily 
     equal''; and
       Whereas, This Nation has become a great nation because of 
     the contributions of many people of different races and 
     nationalities, all giving their best to make our country what 
     it is today;
       On behalf of the citizens of the State of Kansas, I would 
     like to recognize McKinley L. Burnett and invite the 
     participation of all citizens, regardless of race, color, 
     creed, or religion.
                                                      Bill Graves,
     Governor.
                                  ____


   McKinley Burnett Is Forgotten But Played a Key Role in Brown Case

                            (By John Hanna)

       Topeka.--Most folks know about Linda Brown, the young black 
     girl who was barred from attending a school near her home 
     because of her race. Many also have heard of her father, 
     Oliver Brown.
       His name appeared first on one of the U.S. Supreme Court's 
     most famous cases. The May 17, 1954 ruling in Brown vs. Board 
     of Education of Topeka declared school segregation 
     unconstitutional.
       But few people have heard of McKinley Burnett. People who 
     do know about him think his anonymity is a shame, because he 
     played a key role in the Brown case.
       Burnett served as president of the Topeka chapter of the 
     National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
     from 1948 to 1963.
       And his anger at the local school board's refusal to end 
     segregation in elementary schools helped fuel a small but 
     persistent movement that led to the Brown case in February 
     1951.
       ``Quite frankly, McKinley Burnett was one of the primary 
     catalysts,'' said Cheryl Brown Henderson, a daughter of 
     Oliver Brown, who is now president of the Brown Foundation. 
     ``It's very important that people have their rightful place 
     in history.''
       Local activists scheduled a ceremony for Saturday at 
     Topeka's public library to honor Burnett, marking the 100th 
     year since his birth and the 43rd anniversary of the Brown 
     decision. On display will be family memorabilia, pictures and 
     letters.
       Burnett was born in Oskaloosa in January 1897. He became an 
     activist early in life, said a son, Marquis Burnett.
       ``When they had school plays, the only parts he could get 
     were being a dancer or a butler,'' Marquis Burnett said.
       McKinley Burnett worked in the Santa Fe railroad shops, as 
     well as at the Veterans' Administration hospital as a stock 
     clerk, one of the better jobs available for blacks in those 
     days. People understood that some jobs simply were closed to 
     blacks.
       Letters the family displays from its collection show the 
     harshness of discrimination. Some are from McKinley Burnett 
     to various Kansas officials, complaining about the refusal of 
     companies to hire blacks.
       In November 1950, he wrote about his conversation with the 
     sales manager of a Topeka bakery, which had an opening for a 
     route man.
       ``He told me that he could not hire a Negro for such a job 
     and that such had never even been considered, neither had 
     they ever had such a request before,'' Burnett wrote.
       In 1948, Burnett and other NAACP officials began pushing 
     for integration of Topeka's elementary schools. State law 
     allowed segregation in cities as large as Topeka but did not 
     mandate it.
       Topeka High School was integrated but had separate sports 
     teams and clubs for whites and blacks.
       At the time, the city had 18 all-white elementary schools 
     and four for blacks. The district's superintendent believed 
     in segregation; the school board agreed.
       One board member challenged McKinley Burnett to a fight. 
     Charles Baston, another local NAACP member, remembered in a 
     1992 interview for the Kansas State Historical Society that 
     the board was rude. It forced NAACP members to wait until the 
     early hours of the morning to voice their concerns.
       ``It was rather disgusting, because a lot of times, a board 
     member would go through their agenda, and then they would sit 
     and laugh or joke about something to try to extend the 
     time,'' Baston said. ``We never left.''
       By 1950, McKinley Burnett had enough. He and a small group 
     met at the home of Lucinda Todd, the local chapter's 
     secretary, to plot strategy.
       ``Going to court was their last recourse,'' said Henderson, 
     the Brown Foundation president.
       NAACP officials recruited parents with schoolchildren to be 
     plaintiffs. Legend has it that Oliver Brown's name was listed 
     first because it was first alphabetically, but in fact his 
     daughter suspects it was because he was the only male parent.
       In her interview for the state historical society, Mrs. 
     Todd remembered how concerned some blacks were. Black 
     teachers had been told by one school official that 
     integration would end their jobs.
       ``A lot of people had jobs--they worked for the city--and 
     didn't want to cause trouble,'' Marquis Burnett said. ``It 
     wasn't really popular.''
       In the fall of 1950, 13 black families tried to enroll 
     their children in white schools across the city. All were 
     turned away. The NAACP had counseled them to have a witness 
     and to document what had happened.
       The lawsuit was filed in February 1951. The U.S. Supreme 
     Court consolidated it with four other cases before issuing 
     its historic ruling.
       ``At that time, he never thought, `I'm going to do 
     something to make history,' '' Marquis Burnett said of his 
     father. ``He was just doing what he had to do.''
       McKinley Burnett greeted the ruling with jubilation, 
     telling reporters in Topeka: ``I say, thank God for the 
     Supreme Court.''
       Burnett battled leukemia throughout his life and retired as 
     NAACP president in 1963. He died five years later, at the age 
     of 71.
       May 17 remained a special day for him.
       ``That became McKinley Burnett's personal holiday, and he 
     would not work for anyone on that day,'' said Baston, the 
     NAACP board member.
                                  ____


                 McKinley Burnett--A Civil Rights Hero

       In any worthy struggle, there are those who doggedly go 
     about the task at hand without fanfare. McKinley Burnett was 
     just such a man.
       The Topekan got his due, albeit late, recognition Saturday 
     at a ceremony and special pictorial postal cancellation at 
     the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.
       Although Brown and often Scott are the names most often 
     mentioned in the landmark 1954 school desegregation ruling, 
     Burnett had built the foundation on which it was based. His 
     effort started back in the 1930s and focused not just on 
     schools, but also other forms of segregation, including movie 
     theaters, restaurants, court-houses and other facilities.
       But Burnett saw the schools as the best place to initiate 
     the changes, and he worked diligently for that cause. When 
     years of effort failed to move the Topeka Board of Education, 
     Burnett in 1950 finally threatened to sue. The march toward 
     Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education began.
       Brown refers, of course, to the family that alphabetically 
     headed the list of plaintiffs. Scott is the name of the 
     family of lawyers who argued the case. But make no mistake, 
     Burnett is also an important part of the suit.
       Saturday's special cancellation attests to that. Done in 
     recognition of the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court 
     ruling, the cancellation cites the suit filed by the NAACP on 
     Feb. 18, 1951, that led to the ruling. Burnett, who is 
     pictured on the cancellation, was president of the local 
     NAACP at the time and this is the 100th anniversary of his 
     birth. He died in 1968.
       It's unfortunate his contributions weren't more highly 
     recognized during his lifetime. By all accounts, however, 
     Burnett valued results more than personal glory. A true hero.

                          ____________________