[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15752]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                JEFFERSON THOMAS OF THE LITTLE ROCK NINE

  (Mr. SNYDER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, sophomores in high school are not often 
called on to lead a nation. Under the leadership of nine black students 
in Little Rock in 1957, including high school sophomore Jefferson 
Thomas, the Federal Government enforced the rights of all students to 
have equality of education.
  Losing one of the Little Rock Nine is an event no one looked forward 
to. Losing one of the Little Rock Nine, sadly, is what happened on 
September 5, 2010, when Jefferson Allison Thomas passed away in 
Columbus, Ohio.
  Yesterday's heroes, with death, become legends and such is the case 
with Jefferson Thomas. Perhaps no group of young people is as well 
known as Jefferson Thomas and the others we know as the Little Rock 
Nine. Every American, for all time, must honor and remember the heroism 
of these youngsters in 1957, as we have done in 1999 with the 
Congressional Gold Medal and also with a commemorative coin and a 
postage stamp.
  None of us can imagine the daily torment and fear these students 
faced. No young person today can imagine what segregation meant for 
teens like Jefferson Thomas in 1957. But Jefferson Thomas knew; 
Jefferson Thomas acted. And Jefferson Thomas is an American hero who 
will be missed and honored.

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