[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 69 (Thursday, May 8, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION 60TH ANNIVERSARY

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. ROBERT HURT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 2014

  Mr. HURT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 60th anniversary of 
the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which occurred on May 17th, 
1954, and paved the way for integration of American schools during the 
Civil Rights Movement.
  This unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court established that 
state laws allowing for segregated public schools were unconstitutional 
under the Fourteenth Amendment, energizing the movement to end Jim Crow 
laws dictating voting rights, public transportation, dining 
establishments, and almost every other aspect of American communities. 
One of the most important decisions in our nation's history, Brown was 
a deliberate rejection of a system of racial inequality.
  Virginia's Fifth District is an integral part of the history of the 
Brown decision as Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward School 
was one of the five combined cases decided by the Supreme Court in 
Brown. In 1951, 450 students at Moton High School, an African-American 
school in Farmville, Virginia, staged a walkout to protest the inferior 
facilities and unsuitable conditions at the school. The protest began 
as an effort to equalize educational opportunities for all students in 
the county, but quickly escalated to a battle for desegregation as the 
NAACP joined the Moton students' cause along with the other cases 
decided in Brown. Thanks to this pivotal decision and the efforts of so 
many upstanding Virginians, the students of Moton High School won a 
great victory against segregation to ensure equality for young people 
across the country. While it did not end the struggle for 
desegregation, it certainly was a catalyst for change.
  The promise of equal opportunity is a core facet of our Constitution. 
Today, we thank those who courageously fought for equality, leading to 
the Brown decision that led to the dismantling of racial segregation in 
our nation's public schools and giving life to the promise of our 
Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal.

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