[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3116-H3118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 R. JESS BROWN UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 842) to designate the United States Courthouse to 
be constructed in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ``R. Jess Brown United 
States Courthouse''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 842

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States Courthouse to be constructed at the site 
     bounded on the north by Court Street, on the west by West 
     Street, on the south by South Street, and on the east by 
     President Street in Jackson, Mississippi, shall be known and 
     designated as the ``R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the courthouse 
     referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to 
     the ``R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Ms. Edwards) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-
Balart) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Maryland.


                             General Leave

  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on H.R. 842.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 842, a bill to designate the 
courthouse to be built in Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown 
United States Courthouse. Attorney Brown was a towering figure in the 
history of the civil rights movement in the South and especially in 
Mississippi. He was a native son of Kansas, born in Coffeyville, 
Kansas, and raised in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He received his law degree 
from Texas Southern University and practiced law in Mississippi in the 
1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
  As Associate Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement 
of Colored People Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Brown filed the 
first civil rights suit in Mississippi in the 1950s in Jefferson Davis 
County seeking the enforcement of the right of black citizens to become 
registered voters.
  In 1961, Brown represented James H. Meredith in his suit to be 
allowed to enter the University of Mississippi. His victory in this 
case opened the doors of that university to all of Mississippi's 
citizens.
  While with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he played a major role in 
fighting discrimination in the areas of transportation and other public 
accommodations working alongside Thurgood Marshall, who had later 
become Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
  During his lifetime, he received numerous awards and honors, 
including the NAACP's Lawyer of the Year award, National Bar 
Association C. Francis Stradford Award, which is their highest award, 
and Mississippi Teachers Association award for extraordinary service to 
education in Mississippi.
  I support this legislation and urge my colleagues to join me to pass 
H.R. 842.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  As we just heard, this bill names the United States Courthouse to be 
constructed in Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown United States 
Courthouse.

[[Page H3117]]

  R. Jess Brown grew up and was educated in the public school system of 
Muskogee, OK.
  He attended Illinois State University, Indiana University, and the 
Texas Southern Law School.
  Mr. Brown was actively involved in civil rights issues and dedicated 
his career to pursuing equality for all citizens.
  In 1948, he was a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit brought on behalf of 
African-American teachers in Jackson, MS, seeking equal pay.
  After being admitted to the bar in Mississippi, he became Associate 
Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
  As Associate Counsel, he filed a civil rights case in Mississippi 
seeking to enforce the right of African Americans to register to vote.
  Later, in 1961, Mr. Brown represented James H. Meredith in a lawsuit 
that was filed and won. This case opened the door to allow Mr. Meredith 
and other African Americans to enter and study at the University of 
Mississippi.
  Mr. Brown was active in many other cases that helped to break down 
barriers related to discrimination in the areas of public 
transportation and accommodations.
  He was a leader not only in the civil rights movement, but also more 
broadly in the legal community. Among his many accomplishments, he co-
founded the Magnolia Bar Association, served on the Board of the 
National Bar Association, and was admitted to practice law before the 
United States Supreme Court.
  I have no objections to the passage of this bill and support its 
adoption.
  I understand the other side has a speaker, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), the sponsor 
of the bill.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 842, 
a bill to designate the United States Courthouse under construction in 
Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse.
  Mr. Speaker, R. Jess Brown was born September 12, 1912, in 
Coffeyville, Kansas. His parents, Ernestine and Joe Brown, were jazz 
musicians, vaudeville performers and theater managers.
  Jess received a bachelor of science in industrial arts from Illinois 
State Normal University and a master of science in education in the 
area of industrial education from Indiana University in Bloomington, 
Indiana.
  After teaching at Alcorn State University, Mr. Brown moved to 
Jackson, Mississippi, where he taught industrial arts at Lanier High 
School, the only black high school in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, 
at that time. While teaching at Lanier, Mr. Brown became an intervening 
plaintiff in a lawsuit that sought equal pay for all teachers in 
Jackson, Mississippi.
  After teaching in Jackson, Jess attended Texas Southern University 
Law School. Jess left the law school before receiving his juris 
doctorate, but was able to go back to Mississippi and pass the 
Mississippi bar in 1953. After passing the bar, Mr. Brown began 
practicing law in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  As a young lawyer, Jess confined his practice to cases involving 
divorces, deeds, land titles and other practices that did not disturb 
white members of the bar. However, after the Brown v. Topeka Board of 
Education ruling, Brown felt compelled to defend the civil rights of 
African Americans.
  In the fall of 1955, the conditions and hardships endured by black 
lawyers in the courts led Mr. Brown and seven other black attorneys to 
establish the Magnolia Bar Association. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Brown is 
credited with filing the first civil rights lawsuit in Mississippi. 
This lawsuit, on behalf of a Jefferson County minister, challenged laws 
that prevented blacks from voting.
  Mr. Speaker, R. Jess Brown has an extensive record as a civil rights 
lawyer. Among his many cases, Mr. Brown represented Clyde Kennard after 
he was arrested while trying to enroll at the University of Southern 
Mississippi.
  Jess served as co-counsel for James Meredith's lawsuit to enter the 
University of Mississippi. This case was the ultimate cause of the 
integration of that university.
  Mr. Brown represented Dr. Gilbert Mason when he and others were 
arrested in their efforts to end racial segregation on the beaches of 
Biloxi, Mississippi.
  He represented Medgar Evers and Dr. Aaron Henry as they fought for 
civil rights in the 1960s and 1970s.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Brown was admitted to practice law before all courts 
in Mississippi, the United States District Court for the Northern 
District of Mississippi, the United States District Court for the 
Southern District of Mississippi, the United States Court of Appeals 
for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Brown 
also served on the executive board of the National Bar Association for 
approximately 15 years.
  Mr. Speaker, on January 2, 1990, R. Jess Brown died in Jackson, 
Mississippi, at the age of 77.
  Mr. Speaker, R. Jess Brown did many great things for the people of 
Mississippi, and he has received many accolades for his 
accomplishments. As I stand here today, in part because of the efforts 
of Jess Brown, I can think of few other people as worthy of having 
their name on the Mississippi courthouse under construction in Jackson, 
Mississippi, as R. Jess Brown.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 842.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 842, a 
bill to designate the United States Courthouse to be constructed in 
Jackson, Mississippi, as the ``R. Jess Brown United States 
Courthouse''.
  R. Jess Brown was born in Coffeeville, Kansas, on September 2, 1912. 
He was educated in the Muskogee, Oklahoma public schools, and later 
received a Bachelor of Education from Illinois State Normal University 
in 1935, a Master of Education from the University of Indiana in 1943, 
and a Juris Doctorate from Texas Southern Law School.
  He was admitted to the bar for the State of Mississippi in 1953 and 
admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the 
Southern District of Mississippi. In 1955, he co-founded the Magnolia 
Bar Association, and he later served on the Board of the National Bar 
Association for nearly 15 years. In 1958, he was admitted to practice 
before the United States Supreme Court.
  As associate counsel for the National Association for the Advancement 
of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Brown 
filed the first civil rights suit in Mississippi seeking the 
enforcement of the right of black citizens to become registered voters. 
In 1961, Brown represented James H. Meredith in his suit to enter the 
University of Mississippi, and his victory in this case opened the 
doors of that University to all of Mississippi's citizens. During his 
time at the NAACP, Brown also played a major role in fighting 
discrimination in the areas of transportation and other public 
accommodations working alongside Thurgood Marshall, who would later 
become a United States Supreme Court Justice.
  Brown also served as counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, 
where he was successful in obtaining reversals of convictions of black 
defendants because of discrimination in jury selection. He represented 
numerous black defendants in cases where the State sought the death 
penalty, and as a result of these appeals, none of these defendants 
were ever executed.
  R. Jess Brown died in Jackson, Mississippi, on January 2, 1990. He 
will be remembered as a brilliant attorney, an accomplished civil 
rights leader, and as a great American. It is appropriate that the U.S. 
Courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi be designated the ``R. Jess Brown 
United States Courthouse''.
  In the 110th Congress, the House passed a similar bill to name the 
U.S. Courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi, after R. Jess Brown. 
Regrettably, the Senate was unable to act on the legislation. I urge my 
colleagues to join me once again in supporting this designation and I 
urge the passage of H.R. 842.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, if I may inquire from 
the gentlelady from Maryland if she has any other speakers at this 
time?
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. I have no further speakers at this time.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Edwards) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 842.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the

[[Page H3118]]

Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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