[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 26, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4475-H4477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK EXPANSION AND 
                           REDESIGNATION ACT

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 270) to amend the Act entitled ``Act to provide for the 
establishment of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site 
in the State of Kansas, and for other purposes'' to provide for 
inclusion of additional related sites in the National Park System, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 270

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Brown v. Board of Education 
     National Historical Park Expansion and Redesignation Act''.

     SEC. 2. REDESIGNATION OF THE BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION 
                   NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

       (a) In General.--The Brown v. Board of Education National 
     Historic Site established by section 103(a) of Public Law 
     102-525 (106 Stat. 3439) shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, 
     document, record, map, or other paper of the United States to 
     the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site shall 
     be considered to be a reference to the ``Brown v. Board of 
     Education National Historical Park''.
       (c) Conforming Amendments.--Title I of Public Law 102-525 
     (106 Stat. 3438) is amended--
       (1) in the title heading, by striking ``HISTORIC SITE'' and 
     inserting ``HISTORICAL PARK'';
       (2) in sections 101(2) and 103(a), by striking ``National 
     Historic Site'' each place it appears and inserting 
     ``National Historical Park'';
       (3) in the section heading for each of sections 103 and 
     105, by striking ``historic site'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``historical park''; and
       (4) by striking ``historic site'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``historical park''.

     SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF THE BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION NATIONAL 
                   HISTORICAL PARK AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AFFILIATED 
                   AREAS.

       (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to honor the 
     civil rights stories of struggle, perseverance, and activism 
     in the pursuit of education equity.
       (b) Definitions.--Section 101 of Public Law 102-525 (106 
     Stat. 3438) (as amended by section 2(c)) is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``As 
     used in this title--'' and inserting ``In this title:'';
       (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the term'' and 
     inserting the ``The term'';
       (3) in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), by inserting a 
     paragraph heading, the text of which is comprised of the term 
     defined in that paragraph;
       (4) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs 
     (3) and (2), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so as to 
     appear in numerical order; and
       (5) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) 
     the following:
       ``(1) Affiliated area.--The term `affiliated area' means a 
     site associated with a court case included in Brown v. Board 
     of Education of Topeka described in paragraph (8), (9), or 
     (10) of section 102(a) that is designated as an affiliated 
     area of the National Park System by section 106(a).''.
       (c) Findings.--Section 102(a) of Public Law 102-525 (106 
     Stat. 3438) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs 
     (5) and (6), respectively;
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (2), the following:
       ``(3) The Brown case was joined by 4 other cases relating 
     to school segregation pending before the Supreme Court 
     (Briggs v. Elliott, filed in South Carolina, Davis v. County 
     School Board of Prince Edward County, filed in Virginia, 
     Gebhart v. Belton, filed in Delaware, and Bolling v. Sharpe, 
     filed in the District of Columbia) that were consolidated 
     into the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
       ``(4) A 1999 historic resources study examined the 5 cases 
     included in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and found 
     that each case--
       ``(A) is nationally significant; and
       ``(B) contributes unique stories to the case for 
     educational equity.''; and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) (as so redesignated), 
     the following:
       ``(7) With respect to the case of Briggs v. Elliott--
       ``(A) Summerton High School in Summerton, South Carolina, 
     the all-White school that refused to admit the plaintiffs in 
     the case--
       ``(i) has been listed on the National Register of Historic 
     Places in recognition of the national significance of the 
     school; and
       ``(ii) is used as administrative offices for Clarendon 
     School District 1; and
       ``(B) the former Scott's Branch High School, an 
     `equalization school' in Summerton, South Carolina 
     constructed for African-American students in 1951 to provide 
     facilities comparable to those of White students, is now the 
     Community Resource Center owned by Clarendon School District 
     1.
       ``(8) Robert Russa Moton High School, the all-Black school 
     in Farmville, Virginia, which was the location of a student-
     led strike leading to Davis v. County School Board of Prince 
     Edward County--
       ``(A) has been designated as a National Historic Landmark 
     in recognition of the national significance of the school; 
     and
       ``(B) is now the Robert Russa Moton Museum, which is 
     administered by the Moton Museum, Inc., and affiliated with 
     Longwood University.
       ``(9) With respect to the case of Belton v. Gebhart--
       ``(A) Howard High School in Wilmington, Delaware, an all-
     Black school to which the plaintiffs in the case were forced 
     to travel--
       ``(i) has been designated as a National Historic Landmark 
     in recognition of the national significance of the school; 
     and
       ``(ii) is now the Howard High School of Technology, an 
     active school administered by the New Castle County 
     Vocational-Technical School District;
       ``(B) the all-White Claymont High School, which denied 
     admission to the plaintiffs, is now the Claymont Community 
     Center administered by the Brandywine Community Resource 
     Council, Inc.; and
       ``(C) the Hockessin School #107C (Hockessin Colored 
     School)--
       ``(i) is the all-Black school in Hockessin, Delaware, that 
     1 of the plaintiffs in the case was required to attend with 
     no public transportation provided; and
       ``(ii) is now used as a community facility by Friends of 
     Hockessin Colored School #107, Inc.
       ``(10) John Philip Sousa Junior High School in the District 
     of Columbia, the all-

[[Page H4476]]

     White school that refused to admit plaintiffs in Bolling v. 
     Sharpe--
       ``(A) has been designated as a National Historic Landmark 
     in recognition of the national significance of the school;
       ``(B) is now known as the `John Philip Sousa Middle 
     School'; and
       ``(C) is owned by the District of Columbia Department of 
     General Services and administered by the District of Columbia 
     Public Schools.''.
       (d) Purposes.--Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 102-525 (106 
     Stat. 3438) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``, protection,'' after ``preservation'';
       (2) by striking ``the city of Topeka'' and inserting 
     ``Topeka, Kansas, Summerton, South Carolina, Farmville, 
     Virginia, Wilmington, Claymont, and Hockessin, Delaware, and 
     the District of Columbia''; and
       (3) by inserting ``and the context of Brown v. Board of 
     Education'' after ``civil rights movement''.
       (e) Boundary Adjustment.--Section 103 of Public Law 102-525 
     (106 Stat. 3439) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(c) Boundary Adjustment.--
       ``(1) Additions.--In addition to the land described in 
     subsection (b), the historical park shall include the land 
     and interests in land, as generally depicted on the map 
     entitled `Brown v. Board of Education National Historical 
     Park Boundary Additions and Affiliated Areas', numbered 462/
     178,449, and dated February 2022, and more particularly 
     described as--
       ``(A) the Summerton High School site in Summerton, 
     Clarendon County, South Carolina;
       ``(B) the former Scott's Branch High School site in 
     Summerton, Clarendon County, South Carolina; and
       ``(C) approximately 1 acre of land adjacent to Monroe 
     Elementary School in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas.
       ``(2) Map.--The map described in paragraph (1) shall be on 
     file and available for public inspection in the appropriate 
     offices of the National Park Service.''.
       (f) Property Acquisition.--Section 104 of Public Law 102-
     525 (106 Stat. 3439) is amended--
       (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``section 103(b)'' 
     and inserting ``subsections (b) and (c) of section 103'';
       (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``States of 
     Kansas'' and inserting ``State of Kansas or South Carolina''; 
     and
       (3) in the proviso--
       (A) by striking ``: Provided, however, That the'' and 
     inserting ``. The''; and
       (B) by inserting ``or by condemnation of any land or 
     interest in land within the boundaries of the historical 
     park'' after ``without the consent of the owner''.
       (g) General Management Plan.--Section 105 of Public Law 
     102-525 (106 Stat. 3439) is amended by striking subsection 
     (c) and inserting the following:
       ``(c) Amendment to General Management Plan.--The Secretary 
     shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 
     Resources of the House of Representatives an amendment to the 
     management plan for the historical park to include the 
     portions of the historical park in Summerton, Clarendon 
     County, South Carolina.''.
       (h) Affiliated Areas.--Public Law 102-525 (106 Stat. 3438) 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating section 106 as section 107; and
       (2) by inserting after section 105 the following:

     ``SEC. 106. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION 
                   AFFILIATED AREAS.

       ``(a) In General.--On the date on which the Secretary 
     determines that an appropriate management entity has been 
     identified for the applicable affiliated area, as generally 
     depicted on the map described in section 103(c)(1), the 
     following shall be established as affiliated areas of the 
     National Park System:
       ``(1) The Robert Russa Moton Museum in Farmville, Virginia.
       ``(2) The Delaware Brown v. Board of Education Civil Rights 
     Sites, to include--
       ``(A) the former Howard High School in Wilmington, 
     Delaware;
       ``(B) Claymont High School in Claymont, Delaware; and
       ``(C) Hockessin Colored School #107 in Hockessin, Delaware.
       ``(3) The John Philip Sousa Middle School in the District 
     of Columbia.
       ``(b) Administration.--Each affiliated area shall be 
     managed in a manner consistent with--
       ``(1) this title; and
       ``(2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 
     National Park System.
       ``(c) Management Plans.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
     management entity for the applicable affiliated area, shall 
     develop a management plan for each affiliated area.
       ``(2) Requirements.--A management plan under paragraph (1) 
     shall--
       ``(A) be prepared in consultation and coordination with 
     interested State, county, and local governments, management 
     entities, organizations, and interested members of the public 
     associated with the affiliated area;
       ``(B) identify, as appropriate, the roles and 
     responsibilities of the National Park Service and the 
     management entity in administering and interpreting the 
     affiliated area in a manner that does not interfere with 
     existing operations and continued use of existing facilities; 
     and
       ``(C) require the Secretary to coordinate the preparation 
     and implementation of the management plan and interpretation 
     of the affiliated area with the historical park.
       ``(3) Public comment.--The Secretary shall--
       ``(A) hold not less than 1 public meeting in the general 
     proximity of each affiliated area on the proposed management 
     plan, which shall include opportunities for public comment; 
     and
       ``(B)(i) publish the draft management plan on the internet; 
     and
       ``(ii) provide an opportunity for public comment on the 
     draft management plan.
       ``(4) Submission.--Not later than 3 years after the date on 
     which funds are made available to carry out this section, the 
     Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 
     Resources of the House of Representatives the management plan 
     for each affiliated area developed under paragraph (1).
       ``(d) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may provide 
     technical and financial assistance to, and enter into 
     cooperative agreements with, the management entity for each 
     affiliated area to provide financial assistance for the 
     marketing, marking, interpretation, and preservation of the 
     applicable affiliated area.
       ``(e) Land Use.--Nothing in this section affects--
       ``(1) land use rights of private property owners within or 
     adjacent to an affiliated area, including activities or uses 
     on private land that can be seen or heard within an 
     affiliated area; or
       ``(2) the authority of management entities to operate and 
     administer the affiliated areas.
       ``(f) Limited Role of the Secretary.--
       ``(1) In general.--Nothing in this section authorizes the 
     Secretary--
       ``(A) to acquire land in an affiliated area; or
       ``(B) to assume financial responsibility for the operation, 
     maintenance, or management of an affiliated area.
       ``(2) Ownership.--Each affiliated area shall continue to be 
     owned, operated, and managed by the applicable public or 
     private owner of the land in the affiliated area.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Bentz) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 270, the Brown v. Board of 
Education National Historic Site Expansion Act. This bipartisan bill 
would rename the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in 
the State of Kansas as the Brown v. Board of Education National 
Historic Park.
  It would also expand the park to include four affiliated sites in 
South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia 
relating to court cases on school desegregation that were consolidated 
into the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 
an acknowledgment that I think is important of the entire list of 
plaintiffs in that historic court decision.
  This legislative effort will continue to elevate the important 
stories and education of the civil rights movement through these 
affiliated sites and national historic park designation.
  This bipartisan bill passed the Senate with an amendment by voice 
vote in April. The House companion legislation is sponsored by our 
colleague from South Carolina, the majority whip, Representative   
James Clyburn.
  Earlier this Congress, the House Natural Resources Committee held a 
hearing on his bill and ordered it favorably reported by unanimous 
consent.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Clyburn for championing this 
bill, and I urge my colleagues to support its adoption. I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that last week we celebrated National Park 
Week. Each April we celebrate our national parks and invite every 
American

[[Page H4477]]

to get out and actually experience them.
  My home State of Oregon harbors five units of the National Park 
System: Crater Lake National Park, Fort Vancouver National Historic 
Site, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Nez Perce National 
Historical Park, and Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. I 
look forward to at least the next century of visitors discovering 
Oregon's parks and everything Oregon has to offer.
  In recent years the National Park Service has made a concerted effort 
to provide a more inclusive look at American history to ensure that our 
parks tell the stories of all Americans. I applaud the National Park 
Service for its effort to make all Americans feel welcome and included 
in our National Park System.
  S. 270, the Brown v. Board of Education Historic Site Expansion Act, 
adds to the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site 
currently located in Topeka, Kansas, so that it would include 
additional sites in South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and the 
District of Columbia each as an affiliated area.
  This bill will help to recognize and preserve sites associated with 
the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case, which resulted in a 
landmark Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation of public schools 
is unconstitutional. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the students, 
parents, and lawyers whose extraordinary courage and vision led to the 
dismantling of the separate but equal doctrine.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of S. 270, and I look forward to its 
being signed into law. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn.)
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 270, the Brown v. Board of 
Education National Historic Site Expansion Act. I thank Senator Chris 
Coons for his leadership securing the Senate's unanimous support for 
passage of this important legislation earlier this month. I am proud to 
lead the legislation here in the House along with our bipartisan 
cosponsors, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, Congresswoman Eleanor 
Holmes Norton, and Congressman  Bob Good.
  As a former teacher of history and a student of history, I believe in 
the value of learning from our past. Many Americans don't know that the 
landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, that 
desegregated public schools in 1954, combined legal challenges from 
four States and the District of Columbia. I represent one of those 
States and was fortunate to know some of the petitioners from Clarendon 
County, South Carolina, who challenged the separate but equal laws. 
Many of their photographs hang in my congressional office.
  In 2004, I wrote, in cooperation with the Palmetto Conservation 
Foundation, the book ``Uncommon Courage: The Story of Briggs v. 
Elliott, South Carolina's Unsung Civil Rights Battle.'' That same year, 
I was proud to lead the effort to present the Congressional Gold Medal 
of Honor to the leaders of that challenge--Harry and Eliza Briggs, Levi 
Pearson, and Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine.
  Their case, Briggs v. Elliott, was the first of those cases that 
later became Brown v. Board. The subsequent cases were in Delaware, 
Virginia, Washington, D.C., and, of course, Topeka, Kansas.
  Today there is a National Parks site that was created by Congress in 
1992 in Topeka that tells the story of the ordinary people who took 
this extraordinary action to ensure their children had equal 
educational opportunities. However, the other communities involved in 
this historic effort have no National Park Service presence 
acknowledging their contributions.
  This legislation will right that wrong. It expands the Brown v. Board 
of Education National Historic Site to include locations in each of the 
communities that were part of the lawsuit. When writing this 
legislation, I worked with the National Trust Fund for Historic 
Preservation who engaged with the communities that would be impacted to 
solicit their input.

                              {time}  1515

  With the enactment of this legislation, the Brown v. Board of 
Education National Historic Site will become more than the Monroe 
School building in Topeka. It will add the Summerton School and Scott's 
Branch School in Summerton, South Carolina, to represent the Briggs v. 
Elliott case; the Hockessin Colored School No. 107 and Howard High 
School in Wilmington, Delaware, to represent Belton v. Gebhart; the 
former Robert Russa Moton High School, now a museum, in Farmville, 
Virginia, to represent Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward 
County; and the John Philip Sousa Junior High School in the District of 
Columbia to represent Boiling v. Sharpe.
  Each of these sites will tell the story of how these communities 
fought to overturn the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision that 
established the separate but equal doctrine. When Brown v. Board of 
Education overturned that decision and ended generations of inadequate 
education for Black children, constitutional scholar Louis H. Pollak 
hailed it as ``probably the most important American Government act of 
any kind since the Emancipation Proclamation.''
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members of this august body to follow the 
Senate's lead and vote in favor of expanding the Brown v. Board of 
Education National Historic Site to ensure that all the communities 
that contributed to this landmark decision receive proper recognition.
  Having geographically dispersed historic sites that tell this great 
story will enable more students to learn from the past and understand 
the importance of making America's greatness accessible and affordable 
to all.
  Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, let me thank Representative Clyburn for 
his comments and for reaffirming that our national identity is driven 
by our history and that history is something that all of us need to 
learn.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 270.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________