[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8796-8797]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last Saturday we celebrated the 60th 
Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. In that unanimous opinion, 
the U.S. Supreme Court held that the State-sanctioned segregation of 
public schools was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and 
therefore unconstitutional. The Court ``concluded that,'' in the field 
of public education, the doctrine of separate but equal' has no place. 
Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.'' This landmark 
decision is rightly celebrated every year.
  The case of Hernandez v. State of Texas, however, decided by the 
Supreme Court just 2 weeks before the Brown decision, is an often 
overlooked and yet momentous advancement of civil rights in our 
country. In that case, the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth 
Amendment protects those beyond the racial classes of white or black, 
and extends to all racial groups in the United States. Fortunately, we 
are only left to imagine a world without the Hernandez decision, a 
world that would have blocked Hispanics and other racial groups from 
the promise of equality made in the Constitution.
  Taken together, the Brown and Hernandez decisions stand as landmarks 
of progress in our country. We have come far in the march towards 
equality; yet, we must recognize that we can and must achieve more. Six 
decades after

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the Brown and Hernandez decisions, our country must continue to 
confront social, economic, and racial inequalities throughout this 
country.
  Racial inequality is not an issue that our society can just wish away 
in the 21st century. It still exists in our criminal justice system, 
educational, and voting systems, and in our housing and lending 
markets. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as a member 
of the Senate for nearly 40 years, I have fought to uphold the promise 
of equality in our fundamental charter.
  The anniversary of these civil rights cases is a moment to reflect on 
our past, and to evaluate and commit to the next steps that we need to 
take as we strive to build a more perfect Union. As many families 
across the Nation celebrate the graduation of hard-working students who 
have earned their degrees, it is important to also celebrate all who 
helped in the journey traveled. As former Supreme Court Justice 
Thurgood Marshall once said:

       None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up 
     by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody--a parent, a 
     teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns--bent down and 
     helped us pick up our boots.

  Let us rejoice as a nation that in 60 years we have made great 
strides. We must not forget that the promise of our founding charter is 
aspirational, and we are all made better by the fight to bring greater 
liberty and equality to the Nation.

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