[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14849]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THURGOOD MARSHALL ON THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, as I indicated 
earlier in the afternoon, H. Con. Res. 381 was being debated and that 
is the honoring and recognizing the dedication and achievements of 
Thurgood Marshall on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Let me thank 
Congressman Payne for his legislative initiative, the House Judiciary 
Committee Chairman John Conyers and Ranking Member Mr. Lamar Smith.
  I stand here today as a living example of the legacy and the 
leadership of Justice Thurgood Marshall. Who would have thought as he 
broke the color line in Brown versus Topeka Board of Education that he 
would have opened the doors of opportunity for those from the East to 
the West and from the North to the South?
  Most people don't know that America during the 1950s and earlier than 
that continued to be a segregated America. It did not matter where you 
lived. Thurgood Marshall had the courage to take this case to the 
United States Supreme Court. And the Warren court had the courage and 
rightness of mind to be able to establish an equal education for all.
  I applaud Thurgood Marshall who was appointed to the Court of Appeals 
by President John F. Kennedy and ultimately the first African American 
to sit on the United States Supreme Court. He was one who understood 
justice. He was one who recognized the equality of all people. He was 
one who recognized that America is better when it reflects and 
appreciates its diversity.
  Thank you, Justice Marshall, for the freedom and the opportunity you 
have given even to me.

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