[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9763]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 17, 2004

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 50th 
anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in the case of Brown 
v. Board of Education. Fifty years ago today, Chief Justice Earl Warren 
announced that, under the Constitution, education is ``a right which 
must be made available to all on equal terms.'' That ruling paved the 
way for the end of legal segregation; it affirmed the truth that we all 
knew in our hearts--that separate can never be equal.
  In only 2,000 words, Chief Justice Warren changed the course of our 
nation for the better. It took the Chief Justice only a few minutes to 
read the ruling, but his words are still echoing in every classroom 
throughout the country. His words reverberated through the Supreme 
Court's marble halls and flowed into public school hallways. Those 
words continued to carry across the land by drawing power from the hope 
they gave to the people who heard them. They were a promise that every 
child would have the same opportunity to receive an education and, even 
more importantly, that every person would have the opportunity to shape 
and contribute to our society's future.
  The Brown v. Board of Education ruling was a crucial step on our way 
to becoming a more just society. We still have a very long way to go, 
but we cannot let the length of the road ahead of us discourage us. The 
Brown v. Board of Education ruling put the power of the law behind the 
fight for racial equality. It was a legal ruling that did so much more 
than end legal segregation in schools; it promised all Americans the 
right to participate in the ``American dream.''
  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 
(NAACP) carefully formed a strategy to boldly challenge the 
constitutionality of segregation. Linda Brown represented the millions 
of children suffering from the effects of segregation, and her father, 
Oliver Brown, represented the millions of parents who believed that 
their children deserved better. Civil rights advocates used the Supreme 
Court's ruling on education to challenge discrimination in 
transportation, voting practices, housing and other parts of our 
society. The effort to win legal rights also gave birth to Dr. Martin 
Luther King's powerful dream of an America where all people are free 
from the scars of discrimination.
  Today, we celebrate the courage and conviction of those who stood up 
for their rights and helped to bring about the great victory of the 
Brown v. Board of Education decision. Today we also must join together 
to reaffirm our commitment to equality and to work so that all 
Americans have a real opportunity to reach their full potential. The 
goal of achieving equal opportunity requires us to continue to fight 
for justice and equality. It also requires that we expand opportunity 
by providing adequate funding for quality, public education; creating 
good jobs; ending health disparities; and guaranteeing full access to 
the ballot booth in practice as well as in theory.
  Today, we have much to celebrate but we also have much left to 
achieve.

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