[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 28163-28164]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 355--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING 
BOSTON'S CELEBRATION OF THE LITTLE ROCK NINE ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
 THEIR COURAGEOUS AND SELFLESS STAND IN THE FACE OF HATRED, VIOLENCE, 
                            AND INTOLERANCE

  Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 355

       Whereas, on October 24, 2007, the legacy of the Little Rock 
     Nine will be celebrated in Boston's Faneuil Hall;
       Whereas, in Faneuil Hall, abolitionists of the 19th Century 
     publicly attacked the evils of slavery in the United States;
       Whereas Massachusetts was the center of the United States 
     abolitionist movement and a national leader in providing 
     public education to all students, regardless of race or 
     ethnicity;
       Whereas abolitionist leader and Newburyport, Massachusetts 
     native William Lloyd Garrison fueled the abolitionist 
     movement through his powerful writing in his newspaper, ``The 
     Liberator'', and fiery public oratory;
       Whereas the ``Father of American public education'', 
     Franklin, Massachusetts native Horace Mann, advocated for the 
     end of slavery and improved access for all students to 
     quality public education;
       Whereas, in 1832, Garrison and other abolitionists gathered 
     at the African Meeting House on Boston's Beacon Hill and 
     founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society;
       Whereas, in 1855, the Massachusetts legislature outlawed 
     segregation in the State's public schools;
       Whereas, on May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court 
     issued its ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education 
     of Topeka and declared that segregated education was 
     unconstitutional;
       Whereas many elementary and high schools and colleges and 
     universities throughout the United States continued to

[[Page 28164]]

     enforce a system of educational inequality in which students 
     of color were denied access to their right to a quality 
     public education;
       Whereas, 3 years after the ruling in Brown v. Board of 
     Education of Topeka, the school board of Little Rock, 
     Arkansas, announced it would implement a gradual integration 
     of its school system beginning in September 1957;
       Whereas the Little Rock chapter of the National Association 
     for the Advancement of Colored People selected 9 outstanding 
     African-American students to attend previously all-White 
     Little Rock Central High School;
       Whereas, on September 4, 1957, those 9 African-American 
     students, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, 
     Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence 
     Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls attempted to 
     enter Central High School;
       Whereas, on September 4, 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval 
     Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered the 
     armed soldiers to block the 9 African-American students from 
     entering Central High School;
       Whereas, after a Federal judge ordered Governor Faubus to 
     remove the National Guard, police officers and citizens of 
     Little Rock took up positions at the entrances to Central 
     High School and continued to block the African-American 
     students from entering;
       Whereas, on September 23, 1957, after learning that the 9 
     African-American students had successfully entered the 
     school, a segregationist mob gathered at Central High School 
     and the African-American students had to be escorted from the 
     school for fear that they would be killed;
       Whereas, on September 23, 1957, Little Rock Mayor Woodrow 
     Mann, in a telegram to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 
     appealed to the President to send Federal troops to protect 
     the students and ensure the integration of Central High 
     School;
       Whereas on September 24, 1957, President Eisenhower ordered 
     the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army to 
     Little Rock and federalized the entire Arkansas National 
     Guard;
       Whereas, on September 25, 1957, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth 
     Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, 
     Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta 
     Walls walked through the front doors of Central High School, 
     as thousands of White students had done before them;
       Whereas despite the constant presence of United States 
     soldiers, the 9 African-American students were physically and 
     verbally harassed throughout the school year;
       Whereas Minnijean Brown, after enduring months of physical 
     and verbal harassment and assaults, was expelled from Central 
     High School for a verbal retort aimed at one of her 
     antagonists;
       Whereas, at the end of the 1957-1958 school year, Ernest 
     Green became the first African-American graduate in the 
     history of Central High School;
       Whereas Minnijean Brown Trickery became a prominent social 
     activist and works as a writer and social worker in Ontario, 
     Canada;
       Whereas Ernest Green attended Michigan State University, 
     later served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Affairs under President Jimmy Carter, and currently is a 
     managing partner and vice president of Lehman Brothers;
       Whereas Elizabeth Eckford had a successful career in the 
     same United States Army that protected her at Central High 
     School, raised 2 sons in Little Rock, and now works as a 
     social worker;
       Whereas Thelma Mothershed-Wair returned to school as a 
     teacher and now volunteers in a program for abused women;
       Whereas Melba Pattillo Beals is an author and journalist 
     for People Magazine and NBC Universal;
       Whereas Gloria Ray Karlmark graduated from Illinois 
     Technical College and is a successful computer science writer 
     whose work has been published in 39 countries;
       Whereas Terrence Roberts is now Dr. Terrence Roberts and 
     teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 
     and Antioch College and also works as a clinical 
     psychologist;
       Whereas Jefferson Thomas graduated from Central High School 
     in 1960 and works for the Department of Defense as an 
     accountant;
       Whereas Carlotta Walls Lanier graduated from Central High 
     School in 1959, attended Michigan State University, and has 
     found success in the field of real estate;
       Whereas the Little Rock Nine, in brave defiance of 
     segregation, proved that with access to educational 
     opportunity all students are capable of greatness, regardless 
     of race or ethnicity;
       Whereas the courage of the Little Rock Nine, broadcast for 
     the entire world to see, inspired other students of all 
     colors to take a stand on behalf of tolerance, integration, 
     and equality;
       Whereas the courage of the Little Rock Nine demonstrated to 
     segregationists throughout the United States that hatred and 
     intolerance were no match for the bravery of 9 high school 
     students; and
       Whereas, 50 years after the integration of Central High 
     School, all Americans must remain vigilant in order to ensure 
     that every child has access to quality public education, 
     regardless of race or ethnicity: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) joins with the people of Massachusetts in honoring the 
     courage of the Little Rock Nine;
       (2) pledges to advance the legacy of the Little Rock Nine;
       (3) endeavors to ensure that no American is denied access 
     to education because of race or ethnicity; and
       (4) encourages the people of the United States to 
     remember--
       (A) the courage of the Little Rock Nine; and
       (B) the vital importance of equal opportunity in education.

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