[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9714]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               REFLECTIONS ON BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, today marks the 50th anniversary of the 
Supreme Court's landmark decision to end segregation as the law of the 
land. This day, in short, changed everything or almost everything in 
the field of race relations. This day was Monday, May 17, 1954.
  Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was about more than Topeka, 
Kansas. It was, in fact, a consolidation of five cases challenging 
segregation in public schools in the United States of America. The five 
cases had been heard by lower courts and had been appealed to the 
United States Supreme Court by attorneys representing black school 
children in South Carolina, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Virginia, and 
Topeka.
  Today, we celebrate the fortitude, the integrity, and the conscience 
of those who stood up for American values, from the 1930s and 1940s 
with the Mexican neighbors in Lemon Grove and the Mendez family in 
Orange County, California, to the 1950s with the students of Robert 
Moton High School in Virginia, parents in Washington, D.C., Summerton, 
South Carolina, Delaware, and, yes, the Brown family of Topeka, Kansas.
  In communities across the Nation, minority families united to make 
America's promise of equality apply to their children, too. Brown was a 
turning point in the battle for equal educational opportunities for 
all, but there is still a long way to go before we can declare victory.
  Although the Supreme Court handed down its decision 50 years ago, we 
must not forget that Brown is not only a historical moment, but it is 
living law. We must rededicate ourselves to keeping the spirit of Brown 
alive in every State, every school district, and every school building 
in the country. More than 40 percent of the 1.8 million Hispanic 
students in Texas attend schools where they are the overwhelming 
majority. Texas is not the only State seeing this trend.
  Across the United States, communities are increasingly isolated by 
race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Our schools reflect this 
isolation. Today, in 2004, Hispanic students attend the most segregated 
schools in the Nation.
  Wealth is concentrated in certain communities and because of our 
system of funding schools with local property taxes, that wealth is 
also concentrated in certain schools. Nearly every State in the Union 
is engaged in court battles over school finance. It seems to me that 
equal opportunities and equal resources go hand in hand; do you not 
agree?
  It is no coincidence that the Texas miracle in education followed the 
implementation of the so-called Robin Hood system of funding schools 
that moved resources from wealthier school districts to poorer ones.
  In staying true to the spirit of the Brown decision, we must ensure 
that America's young people have equal opportunities and that the 
resources to achieve them are provided, no matter what the color of 
their skin, no matter what their ethnic background is, no matter if 
they are poor, and no matter where they live in the United States, 
whether it be in the metropolitan cities or rural areas.
  Today, the unfortunate truth is, not only have we not fulfilled the 
dream of equal educational opportunities, but also many of our young 
people are not even in ``separate but unequal schools.'' Many are 
completely separated from school altogether.
  The graduation rate for African American and Hispanic students hovers 
at 50 percent. The Manhattan Institute reports that only 20 percent of 
the African American students and only 16 percent of Hispanic students 
leave high school prepared for college. The high school diploma is the 
minimum entry requirement for postsecondary education and being able to 
compete in the 21st century workplace. Yet half of our poor and 
minority students are being denied the basic ticket to a productive 
future. The spirit of Brown demands that we take immediate action to 
improve high schools and graduation rates.
  We must focus on fundamentals. We must work to improve the basic 
literacy skills of our secondary school students.
  We must support reforms, which have proven effective in improving 
educational outcomes at the secondary school level. More importantly, 
we must adequately fund these programs instead of penalizing schools 
that desperately need our help.
  Finally, we must hold ourselves accountable for high school 
graduation rates. Representative Susan Davis and I have introduced H.R. 
3085, the Graduation for All Act, and Senator Patty Murray has 
introduced S. 1554, the Pathways for All Students to Succeed Act to 
support these kinds of reforms.
  A coordinated national campaign to improve secondary schools is 
desperately needed. This campaign must leverage resources from all 
stakeholders: school districts, local governments, states, 
philanthropic organizations, corporation, community-based 
organizations, and the federal government. Together we will turn this 
around. Together we will make the promise of the Brown decision a 
reality for all of our young people. Our future depends on our success 
in achieving equal educational opportunities for all.

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