[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 75 (Monday, May 19, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H4462-H4469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
60 YEARS AFTER BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, 60 years ago, America was a country
entrenched in inequality. Whites and African Americans were treated as
two separate classes. Our society's education system, perhaps our most
influential and important institution for future success, kept White
and Black children separate and wholly unequal.
Then, in 1954, the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. The Board of
Education, argued and won by the legendary Justice Thurgood Marshall,
rewove the fabric of our divided Nation, and moved our country down the
path towards the civil rights victories of the 1960s. The decision was,
according to Sherrilyn Ifill, the current president of the NAACP Legal
Defense and Education Fund:
The beginning of the end of legal apartheid in the United
States.
Laws of the Jim Crow that were intentionally designed to ensure that
Blacks and Whites were not treated equally were finally questioned by
our Nation's highest courts. The dream of a country where all men are
created equal and treated equally under the law became a potential
reality.
But it would still take decades of tireless activism by multiple
generations of civil rights leaders and organizers to get us where we
are today. Brown v. The Board of Education, this decision was the first
step toward a reality of equality and was a drastic change for a court
that had previously been detrimental to past civil rights actions and
cases.
So we are here today as the Congressional Black Caucus to reflect on
America's 60 years after the Brown v. The Board of Education decision.
What impacts have we seen and what challenges still remain with
achieving a society that truly lives up to the 14th Amendment's equal
protection under the law clause? What steps must still be taken to
achieve a society that lives up to the dream of the civil rights
movement, where the color of one's skin does not determine their
ability to succeed?
Mr. Speaker, tonight, I am proud to be joined by colleagues who have
been part of this effort, this ongoing effort towards realizing the
full potential of what the Brown decision means for every single child
in America.
I would like to yield first to the gentleman from Virginia,
Representative Bobby Scott, my good friend, who has been a champion for
working families and who recently was part of a forum at George Mason
University talking about the issue of the Brown decision and where we
are today.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nevada
for calling this special occasion to give us the opportunity to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court case of Brown v.
The Board of Education.
As a representative from Virginia, I take personal pride in
celebrating this anniversary because Virginia played such a prominent
role in that case. In fact, one of the four cases that were combined
into the Brown decision was Davis v. School Board of Prince Edward
County, in Virginia. Two of the Nation's premier constitutional lawyers
were involved in the case: Oliver Hill and Spottswood Robinson, both
from Virginia.
In the Brown decision, the United States Supreme Court unanimously
struck down the legal footing for racial segregation in public schools
in this country. The decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, a 1996
case that held that a State could maintain separate but equal public
accommodations.
In Brown, the court highlighted the importance of education and
language that still rings true today. The court said:
Today, education is perhaps the most important function of
State and local governments. Compulsory school attendance
laws and the great expenditures for education both
demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to
our democratic society. It is required in the performance of
our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the
Armed Forces. It is a very foundation of good citizenship.
Today it is a principal instrument and a awakening your child
to cultural values in preparing him for later professional
training and helping him to adjust normally to his
environment. In these days it is doubtful that any child may
reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the
opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the
State has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be
made available to all on equal terms.
We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of
children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even
though the physical facilities and other ``tangible'' factors
may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of
equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does.
The court then concluded that:
In the field of public education, the doctrine of
``separate but equal'' has no place. Separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal.
Unfortunately, although the decision was a victory for minority
students, not everyone was eager to comply. Virginia led the resistance
to the Brown decision. Ironically, Virginia used the language in the
Brown decision as its legal grounds for what they called Massive
Resistance, where it said such an opportunity, where a State has
undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made to all on equal
terms.
Virginia reasoned that it could avoid integrating the schools by
having no schools at all. So, in Prince Edward County, they closed the
schools for several years. Schools were also closed in Norfolk and
Front Royal and Charlottesville. We overcame Massive Resistance after
several years and those schools eventually reopened.
But now here we are six decades after Brown. Thankfully, we have made
progress, but we still have work to do.
{time} 1930
The promise of equal educational opportunities envisioned by Brown
remains unfulfilled.
For example, equal educational opportunity does not occur when one
jurisdiction spends substantially more per student than an adjacent
jurisdiction because of the relative differences in wealth between the
two jurisdictions.
Unequal funding results in unequal educational opportunities when you
consider that studies have shown that one-half of low-income students
who are qualified to attend college do not attend because they can't
afford to. In fact, today, a high-income, low-achieving student is more
likely to attend college than a high-achieving, low-income student.
Another example of educational inequality is the current debate over
publicly financed school vouchers, which can be used at private
schools, which might provide educational opportunities to a privileged
few, but which would definitely deprive the public schools of
desperately needed resources.
The supporters of vouchers frequently claim that this is a choice,
when, actually, all it is is a chance. If you win the lottery, you have
a chance to go to the private schools, but if you lose the lottery,
then you are stuck in the public schools, with fewer resources, because
all of the money is spent on vouchers.
Obviously, we have a lot of work to do to complete the promise of the
Brown decision. The 60th anniversary of the decision offers us an
opportunity to rededicate ourselves to achieving these lofty ideals.
Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Nevada for the opportunity
to speak.
Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentleman from Virginia.
Thank you for your historical frame on this important subject on the
60th anniversary of the Brown decision.
Mr. Speaker, I would next like to yield to a true champion for
working families in his district and for people all across this
country, a fighter for average, everyday working people and for
children who deserve a quality education. He is the gentleman from New
York, Representative Charlie Rangel.
Mr. RANGEL. Let me really thank the gentleman from Nevada for
constantly reminding us of what a great country we live in and how it
can be so improved.
[[Page H4463]]
Mr. Speaker, in having fought in the war--screaming and yelling and
complaining, but recognizing how great this Nation is--it was an
opportunity to say thank you for the blessings that have been bestowed
on this Nation and to think about those who drafted a constitution that
didn't include slaves or women or people who didn't hold land.
Yet they drafted a document that was flexible enough for us to be
able to say that that great Statue of Liberty meant that we would bring
talents from all over the world to come to make us the largest
democracy and the strongest military and the greatest economic force in
the world; and we have done that because we have always felt that, no
matter what your background is, if you could get here, you could make
it here.
When we talk about the Brown decision, nobody ever thought that, in
just sitting next to White folks or to Black folks, that we were going
to get a better education.
What we tried to overcome in our schools is that nobody of color who
picked cotton or who fought in the battlefields--who had as high a
patriotic record as any other group of people--would not be able to be
denied the opportunity to participate in the economic growth of this
country.
If individuals succeed in this country, it means communities succeed
in this country. When that happens, the Nation succeeds.
When the flag is saying the United States of America, there is no
color involved or language involved in basically what people think.
They know that we have been able to bring together a gorgeous mosaic;
but if because of color--if just because of color--you associate it
with poverty and a lack of education and a lack of decent housing, then
this is a cancer that we must not only talk about, but that really
prevents America from being all that she can be.
Recently, a person in the other body thought that the political
opposition to President Obama was based on his color. Most of us know
there is no question about it. Most of us know that there are still
parts of this great Nation where people never believed that the Union
Army prevailed and that President Lincoln was a true patriot. Some of
those people hate our President with the same hatred with which they
hated Abraham Lincoln.
The truth of the matter is that more and more people of color are
coming to this country. What will bind them--what will make us
stronger--is that they be educated, that they be able to get into the
middle class, that they be able to prosper.
The Brown decision merely said that a person, an American, who is
being denied an equal opportunity to get an education is being denied
due process. It is like sending a person to the wars without a rifle,
without the resources to negotiate saving his life and to destroy the
enemy.
We are not talking just about doing the right thing. You cannot love
this country if you are not going to be prepared to educate everybody
in this country. It is going to take more than a Court decision,
especially this present Court.
It is going to take this generation to stop teaching their kids to
hate people because of their color, because if you leave it up to kids,
if you really just put them together and see how much they laugh and
joke, they will not be aware that somebody, somewhere, had some
poison--venom--that said that variations in color meant that there were
variations in respect and support.
I think that the Congressional Black Caucus and especially you, the
gentleman from Nevada, are the patriots that we have today with the
willingness to tolerate the indifference and the lack of sensitivity to
our need, but also with the willingness to work and to come together
and make certain that color does not take away from our mutual respect
and from our ability to gain the tools that would allow us to make the
maximum contribution to this great country.
I thank the gentleman for this opportunity, not only to salute those
who drafted the Constitution, but who made it flexible enough for
people they never thought to be able to participate and really make it
work for all of us. Thank you so much.
Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentleman from New York.
Thank you for your wisdom and your sage advice and for challenging
us, even today, to remember what the Brown decision is all about, and
that is for people to truly be treated equally, not on the basis of
race.
We know, based on where we are today in America--though there are
some who want to say we live in a postracial society--when you look at
the outcomes of young people based on where they are from, clearly, we
have not lived up to the full promise of what Brown has intended. So
thank you for your advice and for participating in this Special Order
hour.
I would like to turn now to the chairman of the Progressive Caucus
here in the House. He is a great man with great vision, Representative
Keith Ellison from Minnesota.
Mr. ELLISON. Thank you, Congressman Horsford, and thank you for
leading this Special Order on Brown v. The Board of Education.
Mr. Speaker, I think it can be safely argued that there is really no
more important Supreme Court decision in the history of the United
States. I believe it is the most important decision.
The reason is that our country was founded on the idea that all men
are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness; yet for so many years--243 years--men and women were held in
bondage in this Nation that is dedicated to freedom.
American slavery--racial discrimination--stands as an indictment and
as evidence of the insincerity of that fundamental promise of America.
Then for another 100 years after slavery ended, for Black people to
exist in a state of Jim Crow's subordination is further evidence that
those original words really were not intended and really were not
sincere.
Brown v. The Board of Education was a restoration. It was an attempt
to say: Do you know what? We have had an ugly past in this country, and
we have not lived up to our values.
We have called on freedom, and we have declared freedom, yet we have
given people the opposite of freedom, which is slavery; so with Brown
v. The Board of Education, the United States has begun a process of
pushing the old, ugly past to the back.
I know very well we could stand up here--and we will stand up here--
and talk about the mission that we have to pursue to stand up for equal
education opportunities for all, but if we take a minute just to look
back at what we have achieved, Brown v. The Board of Education
represents a seminal moment in American history when we rejected that
ugly history that was in conflict and in sharp contradiction to the
principles that this country stood for.
I think it is also important, Mr. Horsford, to point out that Brown
v. The Board of Education was not some gift that fell out of the sky.
This case was fought and won by some seriously committed soldiers for
justice.
I know we will talk about Thurgood Marshall here tonight quite a bit,
but before Thurgood Marshall, there was a man named Charles Hamilton
Houston. Charles Hamilton Houston was a brilliant man. He was a
Harvard-trained lawyer and was the assistant dean of Harvard Law
School.
At an early point in his career, he was offended and outraged by Jim
Crow segregation, particularly in schools, so he got an old video
camera, and he drove down south in his car.
He couldn't stay in a hotel because Black people were not allowed to
stay in White hotels during those days. You had to sleep in your car,
or maybe somebody would take you in for the night; but he took that
video camera--took film and footage--and showed exactly what African
American students were living through--the harsh conditions, the fact
that there were all grades of students in the same classroom, the fact
that the buildings were inferior, the books were outdated, the
facilities were in every way inferior--and that this promise of
separate but equal was anything but equal and was inherently unequal.
Charles Hamilton Houston trained up a cadre of lawyers who would take
on and fight American segregation. Among those were Thurgood Marshall,
but there were others as well--Spottswood Robinson. There were many
other great lawyers.
[[Page H4464]]
Back in the day, when it was even difficult for an African American
lawyer to stand up and do anything, these lawyers stood up and made the
case that, in America, the ideals upon which this country were founded
demanded that segregation be struck down.
These lawyers, first of all, didn't go straight to the elementary
schools. First, they went to the graduate schools, and they
desegregated the graduate schools. They fought against White primaries.
Blacks, in some States, could vote in the general elections, but they
couldn't participate in the primaries, so they had no choice in picking
who was the Democrat and who was the Republican.
They took on restrictive covenant cases. They took on all types of
cases. They attacked these standing monuments to segregation and beat
them down. Then they got to the famous Brown v. The Board of Education,
but Charles Hamilton Houston, a man who died at the age of 54, was not
able to see the great work that his student, Thurgood Marshall, had
done as they led the team to beat down segregation in public schools,
but his spirit was there.
Today, as we commemorate this towering victory of defeating Jim Crow
segregation in schools, we have to also commemorate the heroic figures
of Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Spottswood Robinson,
and of many, many more who fought these battles, these Black lawyers
who fought these battles and who would not accept the status quo.
I want to commend you, Mr. Horsford, for leading this today; and I
certainly hope that Americans all across this country, Black, White,
Native American, Hispanic, Asian--of all colors and all backgrounds--
will take a moment and thank those lawyers who fought to defeat
segregation in America because what they literally did--and they did
this for every single American of every color--is they allowed
Americans to stand up and say: we do, in fact, live in the land of the
free and the home of the brave.
Whereas, if we had not defeated segregation, we would have to say: we
live in the land of the White free and the White brave and of the
enslaved and segregated everybody else.
That is nothing to crow about. In fact, that stands as a shame on our
Nation's history, but the achievement of these brave lawyers restored
our Nation's honor.
{time} 1945
This is why I think Brown v. The Board of Education is the most
important case in history. I thank you for taking a moment to focus our
attention on it.
Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentleman for reminding us of the great
legal minds who contributed and helped build the case which resulted in
the Brown decision and the fact that it took a strategic team of
formidable legal minds to come up with the right strategy that
ultimately resulted in this great decision. I thank the gentleman,
Representative Ellison, for reminding us of their distinct
contribution.
I would like to now turn to the gentlelady from California,
Representative Barbara Lee, who comes to this Caucus and this body with
tremendous experience, working first in the community as a caseworker
on behalf of people, and always keeping the focus of people in the
front of the policies that we are pursuing to advance in this great
institution.
I now yield to the gentlelady from California, Representative Barbara
Lee.
Ms. LEE of California. Thank you very much.
Let me thank you, Congressman Horsford, for that very gracious
introduction and also for your continued leadership on so many fronts,
especially in organizing the Congressional Black Caucus' Special Order,
along with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. I really want to thank you for
making sure that the theme this evening of this Special Order, the 60th
anniversary of Brown v. The Board of Education, did not go unremarked.
You are both really doing a fantastic job representing and working hard
on behalf of your constituents.
I also have to say that Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, our fearless
Congressional Black Caucus chair, really serves as an excellent steward
of the conscience of the Congress.
Let me just say I was just a child, Congressman Horsford, in El Paso,
Texas, when the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Brown v.
The Board of Education on May 17, 1954. Schools were segregated when I
started school. So that was in the not-so-distant past. I remember it
very well.
My good friend, Congressman Beto O'Rourke, so ably represents El Paso
today. I have to tell you that the results and the impact of the
Supreme Court's decision striking down the separate but equal doctrine
is visible throughout the city.
I am proud to say also that in 1955, El Paso became the first city in
the State of Texas to integrate its public schools. My mother, Mildred
Parish Massey, was one of the seven African American students to boldly
integrate the University of Texas at El Paso.
In 1957, El Paso elected Raymond Telles the first Mexican American
mayor of a major United States city. On June 7, 1962, the El Paso city
council, under the leadership of Alderman Bert Williams, passed the
first city ordinance of any major city in the former Confederacy
outlawing segregation in hotels, motels, restaurants, and theaters.
These were public places that were previously barred to African
Americans and, in some cases in El Paso earlier, to Mexican Americans.
This history has been recounted by Congressman O'Rourke during Black
History Month. I thank him for that because I just have to say I lived
this, my family lived this, my friends lived this, just as so many
millions of people throughout our country lived this shameful time in
our history.
This is just a bit of my personal background. We know that, despite
the landmark decision, it would take decades in many cities and States
for that first mandate of the Supreme Court to be carried out. But
because of Brown, we have the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting
Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1986.
Of course, we have come a long way since the 1950s and 1960s, but the
fact remains that the fight to end inequality in public education
continues. The end of the legal doctrine, argued then by the brilliant,
great Thurgood Marshall, who was the attorney and later Supreme Court
Justice, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, did not necessarily mean the
end of racial segregation by neighborhood and community, resulting in
schools that continued to see stark segregation by race and income. In
fact, many schools have reversed the desegregation gains of the 1970s
and 1980s, while many other schools remain as segregated as they ever
were.
As a new UCLA report mentioned last week, which I have to cite,
Congressman Horsford, called, ``Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long
Retreat and an Uncertain Future,'' Black and Latino students tend to be
in schools with a substantial majority of poor children, while White
and Asian students typically attend middle class schools. My home State
of California, along with New York and Illinois, is among the top three
worst States for isolating Black students. Latino students are the most
segregated in California.
And now, with the attacks on affirmative action in States, including
my own State, unfortunately, including Proposition 209 many years ago,
in the State of California many minority students are being
systematically shut out of public higher education.
But let's be clear: even in schools that are well integrated,
minority students often are treated differently.
As the results from the Civil Rights Data Collection survey showed,
which was recently released by the Department of Education and
supported by the CBC, despite making up only 18 percent of enrollees,
African American students represented 42 percent of preschool students
suspended once.
Can you believe that? Forty-two percent of preschool students
suspended once. These are 4- and 5-year-olds. And nearly half of the
students suspended more than once.
African American girls were suspended at rates 12 percent higher than
girls of any other race or ethnicity. Black boys were suspended at
higher rates--20 percent--than girls or boys of any other race or
ethnicity.
These are kids who are 4 and 5 years old. This is simply
unacceptable.
[[Page H4465]]
As chair of the CBC's Taskforce on Poverty and the Economy, and the
Democratic whip's Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality, and
Opportunity, we as task force members recognize that equal access to a
quality public school education is key to lifting children out of
poverty. And true equality could not be achieved if systematic
institutional barriers to opportunity are allowed to persist.
It was the Thurgood Marshalls of the world, the Medgar Everses, the
Rosa Parkses, the Fannie Lou Hamers, the Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, the
Malcolm X's, and all those unsung heroes and sheroes in our communities
at the local level that ensured that this Nation would live up to its
own promise and the guarantee that was laid out in Brown.
And so on the 60th anniversary of this tremendous Supreme Court
victory, I hope that Members of this body recognize that while legal
segregation is ended--yes, the laws of the land will not allow it--de
facto segregation and institutional and structural racism is alive and
well. Our public policy agenda must take that fact into account.
We must complete the unfinished business of Brown v. The Board of
Education by supporting legislation, public policies, and funding
priorities that bring true equality and equity in education to all
children.
Thank you again, Congressman Horsford, for allowing us to talk this
evening on this historic and momentous 60-year anniversary of Brown v.
The Board of Education.
Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you, Representative Lee, for explaining so well
the link between poverty and race, and that they both contribute to the
cause of segregation that we continue to see even today.
There are those who want to suggest that race has nothing to do with
it, but yet it is the de facto policies which contribute greatly to why
we see the resegregation, if you will.
Despite the advances in some communities, there are places still in
America where the dream of Brown has not been truly realized and where
communities which were advancing are now taking steps back.
I commend you for raising those points.
Ms. LEE of California. I want to reemphasize this very recent
statistic on this 60th anniversary.
Despite making up only 18 percent of enrollees, African American
students represented 42 percent of preschool students who are
suspended. These are 4- and 5-year-olds.
Just remember that as we debate public policy in this body.
Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentlelady from California.
It is now my privilege to yield to the gentlelady from New York,
Representative Clarke, who continues to make her mark here in Congress.
I am so honored to serve with her in this body. I continue to be in awe
of how she engages her constituents, how she advocates on important
legislation, and how she is advancing bold ideas to move our country
forward. It has truly been an honor to learn from her as a freshman.
I yield to the gentlelady from New York, Representative Yvette
Clarke.
Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Nevada (Mr. Horsford) for his leadership and for being willing to be
one of our distinguished anchors of the Congressional Black Caucus'
Special Order, along with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who hails from
Brooklyn, New York, like myself.
I want to also knowledge the chairwoman of the Congressional Black
Caucus, Ms. Fudge, for her leadership, speaking truth to power at all
times.
Mr. Speaker, I stand here today with my colleagues from the
Congressional Black Caucus to commemorate, as a beneficiary, a historic
decision--a decision that changed this Nation forever, Brown v. The
Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court held that racial
segregation, the doctrine of separate but equal, violated the guarantee
of equal protection in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
The unanimous decision in Brown v. The Board of Education called upon
the conscience of this Nation and the principles upon which it had been
founded that each of us are created equal and that we are entitled to
the full protections of the laws of our land.
Before Brown, the full participation of African Americans and other
people of color in our public education system, which was a primary
component of our civil society, were prevented and denied almost
everywhere in the United States.
The promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
that we are created equal and entitled to equal protection of the law
were, until the decision in Brown, only words without substance for
millions of people, whose exclusion from our society had persisted in
the century after the Civil War.
Millions of African Americans and other people of color could not eat
in a restaurant, stay in a hotel, obtain a mortgage, or register to
vote, even though they were American citizens who paid their taxes,
fought for our country, and obeyed the law.
Such racial discrimination was not limited to the States of the
former Confederacy. In 1936, after sprinter Jesse Owen returned to the
United States for a ticker tape parade in Manhattan, he was forced to
enter the Waldorf Astoria on a freight elevator to attend a reception
there because the hotel maintained a policy of segregation.
Mr. Speaker, today we have a responsibility not only to commemorate
the historic landmark decision of Brown v. The Board of Education, but
also to understand its relevance at this moment in our history--a
moment when our schools, particularly in New York City, have become
more segregated by race than at any other time in the past half
century, when enormous disparities in income and wealth threaten to
divide this Nation and, indeed, when many of the same tactics used to
disenfranchise our parents and grandparents are again being used to
disenfranchise African Americans in this generation.
Today, we have a responsibility, an obligation, if you will, to build
on the legacy of the Brown decision and to eliminate in our schools,
communities, and other institutions the practice of racial segregation,
whether intended or unintended, that continues to divide this Nation,
and to protect for every American the civil rights to which we are
entitled by the Constitution.
{time} 2000
It falls on our shoulders to keep up that fight for equality and,
quite frankly, to make sure that, as a diverse Nation, we have an
appreciation of the diversity of culture, religious, and ethnic
backgrounds.
Mr. Speaker, I recall the words of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood
Marshall, who wrote that:
Unless our children begin to learn together, there is
little hope that our people will ever learn to live together.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nevada.
Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentlelady from New York. Thank you, again,
for challenging us to take on the responsibility to end racial
segregation. Your words were so eloquent, and it really is a
responsibility that each and every one of us must take hold on and take
heed to in order to accomplish this. It is not going to be done unless
we do it ourselves. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty), who
I am honored to serve with in the freshman class. I am so inspired by
her leadership, and she is such a dynamic spokesperson on so many
important issues before this body. She truly is a committed public
servant.
Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, thank you to my colleague. Thank you so
much, Mr. Horsford from Nevada, for leading us in this Congressional
Black Caucus Special Order hour, and also to my colleague from New York
(Mr. Jeffries), thank you for your leadership.
It is an honor for me to be here, not only as a Member of Congress,
but someone who lived through our topic tonight.
If we pause for a moment and could go back in history, that unanimous
opinion written by Chief Justice Early Warren held that ``separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal'' and that segregation of
schools violates the 14th and Fifth Amendments of the United States
Constitution.
This decision, Mr. Speaker, signaled an end to the State-sanctioned
segregation of public schools in the United
[[Page H4466]]
States, making it unlawful to deny access to public facilities on the
basis of race.
Striking down segregation in our Nation's public schools provided a
major catalyst for the civil rights movement and made advances in
desegregating housing, public accommodations, and institutions of
higher education possible.
On the anniversary of this landmark decision, we acknowledge and
applaud those who endured and lived through those days of crises so all
Americans could enjoy the right to vote, the right to equal protection
of law.
It is the Brown story, but it could have been, as we heard from
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the Barbara Lee story.
It could be the Congresswoman Joyce Beatty story because I grew up
during this same era of time as a young child who, thank goodness, had
a mother and father who understood the link of discriminating against
African Americans, who understood the link between redlining in
housing, to education; so they made a brave step and moved to an all-
White neighborhood, so I could go to an integrated school.
It reminds me of how Oliver Brown probably felt on that day when his
young daughter, Linda, had to walk some 21 blocks, through all kinds of
elements and traffic and danger zones, to get to the segregated school,
when just six blocks away from where they lived was an all-White
school.
So you see, he took on this challenge because of his young daughter
and, at that time, having another daughter that would follow and not
knowing that there would even be a third daughter to follow.
At the age of 32, at the time of the suit against the school system,
he--a Baptist minister, a welder, a person who was active in his
community--decided that he would let his name be put on the lawsuit.
He testified that, many times, his daughter had to wait in the cold,
to wait for a bus to take her to Monroe, even though, as I mentioned,
seven blocks away from an all-White elementary school. That is the
Oliver story.
So when we think of the Oliver Brown story and we think of Mr. Brown,
who opened up the schoolhouse doors to Americans, regardless of race or
color, it created an opportunity for millions of Americans.
Sadly, the promise of the Brown decision remains unfulfilled in many
ways today. Millions of American families face trials and tribulations
related to their color, creed, or religion.
Even today, 60 years after legally-sanctioned educational segregation
ended, the legacy of this discrimination can still be found in our
schools, if you look at graduation rates, in the university, and yes,
in the workplace.
Today and every day, we must rededicate ourselves to raise a new
generation that may seize their opportunities. It is incumbent upon us,
as lawmakers, that we make sure that Americans are able to have a
quality education, that they are able to exceed and succeed in all that
they endeavor.
While we pause in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Brown
decision, we should not rest on our laurels until equality for all is a
reality in our great Nation.
Just this morning, a Columbus school board member reminded me, as
Shawna Gibbs wrote me this note, she said, Mr. Speaker:
No longer separate, but still fighting for equality.
So as I close, I ask us to look at this visual and know that Oliver
Brown's fight was for all of us, 60 years ago and today.
Mr. HORSFORD. I thank the gentlelady from Ohio for her very personal
remarks and reminding us that the decision of Brown has very real
impact on the lives of individuals and, for some in this body who lived
during the time of segregation, to be reminded of how important the
Brown decision was to changing that and to also remind us that we have
a commitment to the current and future generations to ensure that we
never go back to those days.
I thank the gentlelady very much for giving us that personal
reflection on what the Brown decision means to her.
Now, as a Member of the House of Representatives, just think how far
you have come and how far so many children in America deserve to go.
That is what the Brown decision is really all about.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite the coanchor for this hour to the
podium. Each time the Congressional Black Caucus takes time to the
floor for this Special Order hour, it is intended to bring up
provocative issues, discuss important policies that deserve time, and
also to challenge this august body to focus, for at least a while,
about issues that don't always dominate the mainstream agenda.
There is no one who does this more effectively than the coanchor that
I have the honor of sharing this hour with. I have learned so much from
him. He brings personal passion, experience, and education to the
issues that we try to bring forward under the leadership of our chair,
Marcia Fudge.
It is his words that I know this evening will be so poignant as we
reflect on the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. The Board of Education
decision.
I yield to the coanchor of this Special Order hour, my good friend,
Representative Hakeem Jeffries from New York.
Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from
Nevada, my good friend, Representative Horsford, for his eloquence and
for his leadership, for anchoring today's extremely important CBC
Special Order commemorating the 60th anniversary of this historic
Supreme Court decision.
I look forward to our continued partnership as we move forward
dealing with issues of significance, not just to the districts that we
represent in Nevada and in Brooklyn, New York, and parts of Queens,
respectively, but all across the country.
We really appreciate the opportunity that we have, each and every
week, as part of the Congressional Black Caucus' Special Order, this
hour of power, to come before the people of this great country and
speak directly to them for 60 minutes about an issue of great
importance.
We have heard a lot about the seminal nature of the Supreme Court's
decision in 1954, Brown v. The Board of Education, an important
decision, striking down this principle of separate but equal, exposing
it for the fraud that it was, recognizing that, inherently, this
doctrine was just designed to hold up the notion of segregation in this
country, under a false premise that you can have institutions of
learning that were separate but equal. Inherently, these institutions
were unequal, as the Supreme Court found.
This reversed decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence that had been
designed to uphold segregation and Jim Crow laws and racial hatred in
America, first codified by the Supreme Court, we know, in 1857, in the
infamous Dred Scott decision, where the Supreme Court and its Chief
Justice held that Blacks had no rights, whether they were free or
whether they were slaves, that the White man was bound to respect. In
this country, that is what the Supreme Court concluded in 1857.
A war was fought as it relates to the conflict between the North and
the South. Lives were lost, a lot of blood was spilled, and coming out
of that conflict, of course, you had the 13th, the 14th, and the 15th
Amendments.
There was still a lot of people in America that didn't want to accept
the notion of all men being created equally, as had been written in
that glorious document, that Declaration of Independence; so we got the
Black codes, and we got lynchings in the South, and we got Jim Crow
segregation.
Then again, in 1896, the Supreme Court felt the need, in Plessy v.
Ferguson, to step in and raise segregation up to the constitutional
level and conclude in this Supreme Court decision, Plessy v. Ferguson,
that separate but equal--segregation--was constitutional in the United
States of America.
So the NAACP was subsequently formed in 1909, and some brilliant
legal minds, over time, came together to help bring to life the
democratic principles and ideals contained in the Constitution of the
United States of America, but not actually practiced in this great
country.
Some of the names have already been called. Of course, Thurgood
Marshall was the chief legal architect of the strategy that led to the
dismantling of racial segregation in this country, but there were
brilliant legal minds that he went out and recruited: Jack Greenberg;
Constance Baker Motley, who
[[Page H4467]]
went on to become a Federal judge; and Robert Carter, who went on to
become a Federal judge; and Spottswood Robinson, who, I believe, went
on to become a Federal judge--brilliant legal minds that came together.
{time} 2015
And in 1954, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, thankfully
struck down this constitutionally upheld principle from Plessy v.
Ferguson and decided that separate but equal was constitutionally
suspect and shut it down.
But then there were a lot of folks in America who still had to try to
bring this principle to life. You had the desegregation struggles that
took place all across the Deep South; James Meredith and the University
of Mississippi in the early 1960s; and you had the Little Rock Nine,
who attended the segregated Little Rock Central High School. These are
brave individuals, young people confronted by angry mobs, bloodthirsty
hounds, firehoses, and all sorts of intolerable things here in America
simply to get an education. And we know that education pays.
So we still have a long way to go. We have made a lot of progress.
I represent a congressional district in New York State, and I am
disturbed by the fact that New York is a State that has some of the
most racially segregated schools in terms of its racial composition in
the country. California is at the top of the list. Illinois is at the
top of the list. Maryland is at the top of the list. And so we have got
to deal with the continuation of this legacy, not because it is legally
sanctioned at this point, but we still have far too many children
educated in schools all across this country who are not being exposed
to the diversity of this gorgeous mosaic that we have in America. And
perhaps as a result of being isolated into schools with a high
concentration of poverty, a high concentration of racial minorities,
those schools don't necessarily have the same level of resources as we
might find in other more affluent parts of America. So we still have
some barriers that we have to strike down.
The road to equality in America is still under construction, but I
think we, as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, are hopeful
because we understand that if you trace the progress that has been
made, we have come a long way over a pretty short period of time. Yet
we know we still have a long, long way to go.
With that, I believe we still have another distinguished member of
the CBC who has joined with us this evening.
Mr. HORSFORD. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries) just
mentioned the fact that New York, California, and Texas lead this
issue. And, again, while we have made tremendous progress, as the UCLA
study referenced by Representative Lee earlier this evening stated,
students of color are much more likely to be grouped with their
specific demographic. And now, with the changing demographics, we are
seeing a real increase and a striking finding among the segregation of
Latino students. In New York, California, and Texas, more than half of
all Latino students go to schools that are 90 percent minority or more.
So to speak about that or other topics, I will yield to the
gentlewoman from the great State of Texas, Representative Sheila
Jackson Lee.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. I thank the gentleman very much for his leadership
on this very important night and for this very important opportunity to
discuss equality in America. And we are joined by our colleagues, Mr.
Jeffries of New York and, of course, our chair, Chairwoman Fudge. The
CBC has led on issues--topical issues but painful issues, issues that
are important not only to the people of color but certainly to people
around the Nation and, I might say, as they look upon the United States
as a beacon of light, to people around the world. Often when I travel
internationally, I will hear people speak of the work that we do on the
floor of the House.
So I, too, come to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Brown v. The
Board of Education and remind my colleagues that some 60 years ago, the
Supreme Court unlocked the schoolhouse doors, broke down yet another
barrier to equality, and beat the long arc of moral history toward
justice.
But we come now 60 years later. And I just want to speak to a few
points, for many of my colleagues have already been on the floor of the
House. I wanted to express some of the consternations that really
unwind, if you will, the goodness of the Warren Court and its efforts
to make a difference in the lives of so many Americans.
Let me just read these words that were in Newsweek 60 years ago about
this decision:
It was the most momentous court decision in the whole
history of the Negro's struggle to achieve equal rights in
the United States, and the result will be nothing short of
social upheaval. The challenges: Personal prejudice against
the Negro will, of course, linger on, for although a court
decision can restrain the actions of man, it cannot change
overnight the way he thinks. Prejudice, however, no longer
will become institutionalized; ``Jim Crow'' will become an
outlaw.
In the backdrop of Cliven Bundy, Donald Sterling, and the recent
affirmative action decision by the Supreme Court, one would wonder how
we are moving forward and how this Supreme Court decision Brown v.
Topeka cannot be undermined.
Quickly, I want to say that the Court got it wrong in the affirmative
action decision; and Brown lays the framework for equality and
opportunity and exposure; and the affirmative action decision took away
the polio vaccination, if you will, for this ongoing divide between
people of color.
And as you can see in higher education at the University of Michigan
and Michigan State, you will see the numbers going down of people of
color, African Americans. At Berkeley, in California, the numbers are
going down. So affirmative action was not a handout. It was a partner
to Brown v. Topeka. It was, in fact, the opportunity to carry out the
dream that Dr. Martin Luther King had.
So all of us have to come together and experience each other's
experiences. We have to stand in the shoes of young people who want
opportunity, whether they are Hispanic or African American or Asian or
whether they are, in fact, Anglo.
In the State of Texas, there is a sizable segregation of Hispanic
children, and it is because of their regional location. But what I
would argue is that excellence has to go beyond that. As we stand here
looking for integration, we must stand here demanding excellence in
education for our children, and we need to ask the Supreme Court for
its reconsideration in the affirmative action decision which undermines
Brown v. Topeka.
Let me celebrate this great decision, Brown v. Topeka, and commit
ourselves to working continuously to make a difference in children's
lives.
Mr. Speaker, I rise with my CBC colleagues and others in
commemoration of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
As you are well aware the case that came to be known as Brown v.
Board of Education was actually the name given to five separate cases
that were hear by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the issue of
segregation in public schools.
These cases were Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Briggs v.
Elliot, Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County (VA.),
Boiling v. Sharpe, and Gebhart v. Ethel.
These cases came about because unfortunately, as a result of the
Plessy decision, in the early twentieth century, the Supreme Court
continued to uphold the legality of Jim Crow laws and other forms of
racial discrimination.
It was a very perilous time for Black Americans in this country.
It is one thing to allow legalized separation on a de facto basis;
but the Plessy decision all but codified segregation.
This deprived Black Americans and others of the ability to pull
themselves up by their bootstraps--because they could not even go into
the store to buy some boots.
Or receive an education.
You may recall the case of Cumming v. Richmond (Ga.) County Board of
Education (1899), for instance, where the Court refused to issue an
injunction preventing a school board from spending tax money on a white
high school when the same school board voted to close down a black high
school for financial reasons.
The facts of each case were different, but the same principle holds:
it was time that the Court revisited this issue.
The main issue in each was the constitutionality of state-sponsored
segregation in public schools. Once again, Thurgood Marshall and the
NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund handled these cases.
The three-judge panel had already ruled in favor of the school boards
prior to the cases going up to the Supreme Court.
[[Page H4468]]
When the cases came before the Supreme Court in 1952, the Court
consolidated all five cases under the name of Brown v. Board of
Education.
Thurgood Marshall personally argued the case before the Court.
A number of legal issues were raised on appeal but the most common
one was that separate school systems for blacks and whites were
inherently unequal, and thus were in violation of the ``equal
protection clause'' of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
Furthermore, relying on sociological tests, such as the one performed
by social scientist Kenneth Clark, and other data, he also argued that
segregated school systems had a tendency to make black children feel
inferior to white children, and thus such a system should not be
legally permissible.
Because of the difficulty in reaching a decision the cases were held
over until the next term.
On May 14, 1954, he delivered the opinion of the Court, stating that
``We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of
`separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are
inherently unequal . . .''
Although it took many years for the Court's plan of desegration with
``all deliberate speed,'' Brown paved the way and the struggle
continues in the Houston Independent Schools District and elsewhere
around this great nation.
I urge my colleagues to take a moment to reflect on the importance of
this great yet troubled period in our great nation.
[From Newsweek, May 14, 2014]
Newsweek Rewind: 60 Years Since Brown v. Board of Ed Desegregated U.S.
Schools
(By Rob Verger)
Sixty years ago this Saturday, the Supreme Court, by
unanimous vote, ruled in Brown v. Board of Ed that separate
schools for black and white Americans were not equal. The
decision reversed the 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson,
which had said that ``separate but equal'' was OK--and was,
to say the least, a major setback for civil rights in the
United States. While Newsweek reflected in 1954 that Brown v.
Board of Ed would ``ultimately . . . mean the end of
segregation in all public places, everywhere in the United
States,'' it would take another decade for the federal
government, with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to make
segregation in places like restaurants illegal.
Here, in a series of excerpts, is how Newsweek responded in
an unbylined article in the May 24, 1954, issue of the
magazine. The writing style clearly reflects the attitudes
and norms of the times; the use of the term Negro, for
example, feels jarring and insensitive today.
Its initial reaction to the verdict:
``It was the most momentous court decision in the whole
history of the Negro's struggle to achieve equal rights in
the United States, and the result will be nothing short of
social upheaval.''
The challenges ahead:
``Personal prejudice against the Negro will, of course,
linger on, for, although a court decision can restrain the
actions of man, it cannot change overnight the way he thinks.
Prejudice, however, no longer will become institutionalized;
`Jim Crow' will become an outlaw.''
The reaction in the South:
``The court's decision was greeted calmly by some
Southerners, and with dismay by others. At least three
Southern states--Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina--
had been talking of circumventing a ban on segregation by
eliminating public schools altogether.''
Then there's the fact that the South is a diverse place:
``For there is not one South, but many. [Georgia,
Mississippi, and South Carolina] represent the plantation
South, where, in some places, Negroes outnumber whites by 10
to 1. In such places, the mold of segregation will prove
almost unbreakable.''
Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I will just close by saying that if we
want the next generation of students to live the American Dream and
achieve the success that they are capable of, then we must challenge
the growing trend of inequality in our schools throughout America. That
was the eventual dream that emerged from the Brown decision. And so
far, we have fallen short of a fair and equal school system that gives
each student their best chance to succeed.
I thank the Chair for recognizing this Special Order hour on this,
the 60th anniversary of the Brown decision, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
discuss the impacts of Brown v. Board of Education and desegregation of
schools in the United States. This landmark case outlawed segregation
in America, and defied one of the ugliest longstanding manifestations
of racism in America: the legal, physical separation of children in
schools. It has been over 60 years since the Supreme Court's decision
in Brown v. Board of Education desegregated our schools, yet an
achievement and opportunity gap remains among our minority and low-
income students.
As Members of Congress who represent communities of color, the
purpose of today's special order is to highlight this landmark court
case. However, I must also highlight that there is still not economic
and social parity in many of our Nation's schools. There is a crisis
which still exists today that America must address. We must focus our
efforts on closing the achievement gap in the STEM disciplines.
As the first female and first African American Ranking Member of the
House Science, Space and Technology Committee, this is an issue that is
very serious to me. As a United States Congresswoman for over 20 years,
I have fought to provide increased opportunities for minorities to
pursue careers in STEM. This is much more than a question of equality.
We have a vast, untapped pool of talent in America, and this pool is
continuing to grow. It is estimated that by 2050, 52 percent of the
U.S. population will be from underrepresented minority groups.
Our ``Nation's Report Card,'' by the National Assessments of
Educational Progress, demonstrates that students from underrepresented
minorities are falling behind in math and science as early as 4th
grade. At the Post Secondary level, even though students from
underrepresented minorities made up about 33 percent of the college age
population in 2009, they only made up 19 percent of students who
received an undergraduate STEM degree; less than 9 percent of students
enrolled in science and engineering graduate programs; and barely 8
percent of students who received PhDs in STEM fields. Frankly, all of
these numbers are much too low.
I also must underscore the important role that community colleges
play in providing STEM degrees for minority students. 50 percent of
African Americans, 55 percent of Hispanics, and 64 percent of Native
Americans who hold bachelor's or master's degrees in science or
engineering attended a community college at some point. We cannot
afford to ignore the role of community colleges when looking to close
the achievement gap in the 2lst century.
In the same spirit in which Thurgood Marshall fought to end
segregation in our schools, we must now work to achieve parity for all
racial groups in the sciences. We have to drastically increase the
number of African American students receiving degrees in STEM
disciplines, or we will undoubtedly relinquish our global leadership in
innovation and job creation.
Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Jeffries and
Congressman Horsford for organizing this Special Order Hour to
commemorate the 60th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of
Education ruling.
The Brown v. Board of Education decision declared that education
``must be made available to all on equal terms.''
When ruling on the case, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl
Warren stated, ``In these days, it is doubtful that any child may
reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the
opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has
undertaken to provide it, is a right that must be made available on
equal terms.''
While this Nation may no longer legally deny children access to a
quality education because of their race, the equal opportunity to have
a quality education is still being denied to millions of students who
live in poverty, most of them children of color.
According to a report released by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA,
communities are experiencing more school segregation now than they have
in decades. In fact, in New York, Illinois, Maryland and Michigan, more
than half of African American students in these states attend schools
where 90 percent or more of the student body is comprised of
minorities.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, African American
students are six times more likely than white students to attend a
high-poverty elementary school. These students often have inexperienced
teachers, inadequate resources and dilapidated facilities.
Today, millions of students are learning within the environment the
Brown v. Board decision was meant to help them escape. Sixty years
later there is still much work left to be done.
Every student in this country must have equal access to a quality
education regardless of the color of their skin or the poverty rate in
their community. Furthermore, for this Nation to prepare our future
generations for success, we must ensure adequate and equitable funding
for all schools; no longer can only schools in the most affluent
neighborhoods be adequately funded.
Race, socio-economic status or zip code should have no bearing on the
quality of the education a child receives. From access to advanced
classes, to participation in extracurricular activities, we must
continue striving to ensure equal educational opportunities for all of
our children.
[[Page H4469]]
As we commemorate and reflect on the 60th anniversary of Brown v.
Board of Education, let us be mindful of the progress we have made and
acknowledge that there is still much work to be done. The future of our
Nation and our children depends on us.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues to honor the 60th
Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, a decision which was a
major step toward education equality in the United States, and launched
a Civil Rights movement that was a turning point for our country. I am
reminded of heroes like Justice Thurgood Marshall, James Meredith, the
Little Rock Nine, the lawyers who fought in the courtroom, and the many
civil rights activists who risked their lives to fight for equality.
But while the decision changed the law of the land, it didn't
immediately change the reality of education inequality in America.
Chief Justice Earl Warren gave the opinion of the Court, stating ``In
these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to
succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such
an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a
right which must be made available to all on equal terms.'' Thus, we
see the Court firmly establishing the critical role education has on a
child's success.
Even during the time directly following the court decision, all
states and localities did not follow the precedent set by the ruling.
This played out in national news across the country and was clearly
seen at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas when a group of
black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, was blocked by the
National Guard from entering the school, under orders from then
Governor Orval Faubus. Additionally, in the second Brown case, commonly
referred to as Brown II, Chief Justice Earl Warren urged school
districts to implement the principles promptly and with ``all
deliberate speed.''
Over the years, various federal and state laws and initiatives have
been introduced in an effort to improve education, yet today, there is
still more work that can be done to ensure that every child has equal
access to a world-class education. Sixty years later, we are still
fighting for access to affordable early childhood education and higher
education, and also for the reduction of dropout rates. Additionally,
the school-to-prison pipeline is not merely a theory, but is a reality
for many of our students across the country and is hindering them from
access to educational opportunities. We must take a multi-faceted
approach to remedying education as we prepare our students to enter the
workforce in our global economy.
Even those who are educated and are entering the workforce have a
tough road ahead of them. The gender pay gap is a harsh reality of the
day in which we live. This is not reflective of equity, thus we must do
all we can to ensure our students have the tools needed to enter the
workforce as qualified individuals and be able to fully seize
opportunities.
On this important anniversary, let us remember the words of Justice
Thurgood Marshall, who argued this case as a NAACP chief counsel,
``None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our
bootstraps. We got here because somebody . . . bent down and helped us
pick up our boots.'' Today, let us never forget the message of Brown as
we work to ensure equal access to education, a strong workforce, and an
open door to opportunity for all.
Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, this week, as we honor the
living, breathing legacy of Brown vs. Board of Education, we must
acknowledge our role in combatting the resurgence of segregation in our
nation's public schools. I know my personal journey was paved in the
shadow of this landmark decision. As of a proud product of Selma High
School and its first black valedictorian, I know firsthand what is
possible when provided a quality education. I graduated from Princeton,
Harvard, and Oxford on the backs of so many trailblazers who went
before me. I stand on the shoulders of so many who were denied access
to great public schools in the name of institutionalized segregation.
So it is incredibly discouraging to know that our nation's schools
today are more segregated than they were in 1968 or any time since. I
am appalled that there are children growing up today in the 7th
Congressional District and across this country who are less likely to
be afforded a quality education than I was. As old battles become new
again, we must recommit to knocking down every barrier that stands in
the way of school integration.
To tackle this growing trend in our schools, we must attack
residential racial segregation, as it is harder to integrate our
schools while communities where children live are equally as
segregated. Black and white, poor and non-poor children are more
isolated from each other than any other group in the U.S. population.
Housing and school policy are inextricably intertwined.
Nowhere is this resurgence more evident than in the 7th Congressional
District of Alabama at Central High School in Tuscaloosa. Just a decade
ago, Central High School was one of the South's signature integration
success stories with a dropout rate less than half of Alabama's
average. In 2000, a desegregation mandate was lifted from Tuscaloosa
City Schools. And after a series of zoning changes, Central High School
is now 99 percent black with a 66 percent graduation rate. And just
blocks away, more affluent students are zoned for Northridge High
School with an 81 percent graduation rate, higher test scores and more
funding.
Today, nearly one in three black students in Tuscaloosa attends a
school that looks as if our schools had never been integrated. And
black children in the South attend majority-black schools at levels
unseen in forty years.
In addition, students across the 7th District are disproportionately
injured by racially discriminatory property tax restrictions that
impede the ability to raise state and local revenues adequately to fund
public education. This separation of our children across school
districts, municipal boundaries and property tax lines is immoral and
is a threat to the ideals of equality that underscore our democracy.
The trends are clear, as judges across the south have lifted federal
desegregation court orders, school districts have retracted the
progress made by Brown v. Board of Education, moving back towards the
debilitating state of segregation: Less than a third of schools serving
high concentrations of minority students offer calculus, black students
who spend 5 years in desegregated schools earn 25 percent more than
those who don't. African American and latino students are taught by a
teacher with 3 years of experience or less almost twice as often as
their peers and the odds that any given teacher will have significant
experience, full licensure or a master's degree all declines as a
school's black population increases.
We cannot ignore the residential isolation of our nation's most
disadvantaged children and the opportunity gaps they endure as a
result. Integrated schools and communities enable low-income students
to enjoy the same AP courses as their middle-class peers, and better
access to quality teachers and adequate resources.
And to achieve school integration, we will need to make more
concerted efforts to integrate our neighborhoods by prioritizing
affordable housing in communities with good schools. How we address
zoning policies and demographic changes will determine our future.
Today, we cannot honestly expect our low-income, minority children to
succeed in life when they are zoned for schools that are sub-standard,
under-resourced and underfunded. These educational and housing
inequities have a devastating impact on our students and our
communities, and ultimately, our nation's ability to compete globally.
As we enjoy the benefits of Brown vs. Board of Education, we must
work together to ensure that no one growing up in America is denied a
quality education because of the school they are zoned to attend, the
color of their skin or the amount of money they have. It is our job to
do no less!
So sixty years after Brown v. Board of Education, we must honor the
legacies of Vivian Moore, James Hood, Ruby Bridges and James Meredith
by launching an assault on modern-day constructions of segregation in
our schools and communities.
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