[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               60 YEARS AFTER BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 19, 2014

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on May 17, 2014, we marked the 
60th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme 
Court decision, which overturned legalized racial segregation. The 
importance of this decision for our jurisprudence and overall society 
cannot be understated. It was no less than a full-throated affirmation 
of the Fourteenth Amendment, granting all Americans full and equal 
citizenship.
  Any account of the history and enduring legacy of Brown v. Board of 
Education would be incomplete without an acknowledgment of the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense 
and Educational Fund under the leadership of their Executive Director, 
and future Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall. 
Marshall successfully argued that separate accommodations and treatment 
based on race necessarily leads to inequality.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I believe the 60th anniversary of Brown v. 
Board of Education is an opportunity for our nation to reaffirm our 
dedication to full and equal citizenship for all and to reexamine the 
enduring inequalities in our society. As a nation, we must never stop 
striving to better realize the ideals in and promise of our 
Constitution.

                          ____________________