Senate passes Coons-Clyburn bill to commemorate Brown v. Board of Education sites across multiple states
Press Release
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation last night to commemorate the historic sites that contributed to the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The purpose of this legislation--first introduced by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.)--is to expand the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site to include historic sites in South Carolina and designate National Park Service (NPS) Affiliated Areas in other states. It would recognize the importance of the additional sites that catalyzed litigation in Delaware, South Carolina, Kansas, Virginia, and the District of Columbia by designating them NPS Affiliated Areas, and expand the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas.
On Wednesday, the bipartisan bill unanimously passed in the House Committee on Natural Resources. The House will soon consider the bill, and then it will go to President Biden's desk to be signed into law.
"The painful but significant impact the "separate but equal' doctrine had on our nation must never be forgotten. With new National Park Service designations, we will better honor and remember those who worked to correct the injustice of school segregation in Delaware and states across the country," said Senator Coons. "I was raised just a few hundred yards away from the so-called Hockessin Colored School -- one of the segregated schools that played a role in the Brown v. Board of Education case, but I did not learn until law school that two cases successfully challenging Delaware's segregated school system eventually made their way to the Supreme Court and became part of the Brown decision. We must ensure that future generations learn this history, and the best way to do that is by improving and expanding the community spaces that document and share these stories."
"The integration of our nation's public school system was a critical step toward making America's greatness accessible to all of her citizens," said House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn. "Brown v. Board of Education and its companion cases undeniably chartered a course forward, creating educational equity in communities across the country. I am proud to join Senator Coons in leading this legislation to expand the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Kansas, to include other historic sites that played a critical role in catalyzing the 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision. Summerton High School and former Scott's Branch High School in my home state, are historic sites connected to the Briggs v. Elliott case that will continue to tell the story of struggle and perseverance for years to come. I commend the Senate for taking action on this bill and look forward to swift passage of similar legislation in the House."
The legislation was crafted in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In the Senate, the bill was originally cosponsored by U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).
"South Carolina played a prominent role in one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions in the history of our nation," said Senator Graham. "It is important we protect and preserve these historical sites so future generations can learn from them. I appreciate my Senate colleagues working to advance this important legislation as well as the leadership of Congressman Clyburn on this issue in the House."
"Seventy years ago, 16-year-old Barbara Johns led a walkout to protest school segregation alongside all 450 of her fellow Black classmates at the Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. Ms. Johns' student-led demonstration spurred one of the five cases that would eventually head to the Supreme Court under the Brown v. Board of Educationlawsuit," said Senator Warner. "As we honor Barbara Johns' legacy in the halls of Congress with her statue, I'm proud to join this effort to commemorate the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site and further recognize the vital role played by the R.R. Moton School in Farmville in ending school segregation."
"The Brown v. Board of Education case changed the course of history, but it didn't happen overnight. It was the work of many individuals and court cases -- including the Briggs v. Elliott case in Summerton, South Carolina -- that made this landmark decision possible," said Senator Tim Scott. "I'm proud to have supported this bipartisan effort to protect historic sites and ensure the full story behind Brown v. Board is heard and remembered for generations to come."
"Brown v. Board of Education stands to this day as one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions, ending the unjust notion of "separate but equal' in our nation's schools for good. We must ensure future generations learn about our history, including the many institutions that contributed to the decision to end school segregation," said Senator Carper."Places like the Hockessin Colored School, Claymont Community Center, and Howard High School in Delaware played a crucial role in this movement and are still working today to advance social justice and progress today. I'm so proud the Senate could come together today to pass this bipartisan bill, which will guarantee these sites are forever recognized for their part in our nation's history."
"Kansan Linda Brown and her parents took their case all the way to the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, leading to the unanimous overturn of the "separate but equal' doctrine that discriminated against school children because of their skin color," said Senator Moran. "I look forward to the President signing this legislation into law to expand and preserve the historic sites in Kansas and around the country connected to this case. Kansas has played a key role in the civil rights movement, and we must seek to preserve this legacy which calls on all Americans to uphold the self-evident truth that all men and women are created equal."
"In April 1951, Barbara Johns led her classmates in a protest to demand better conditions for Black students at the segregated Moton School in Farmville, Virginia. I'm proud the Senate passed our bipartisan bill to honor the Moton Museum and other historic sites connected to Brown v. Board of Education," said Senator Kaine. "As we approach the 68th anniversary of this landmark ruling, we must continue to tell inspiring stories of Americans fighting for equality and recommit ourselves to upholding the principle of equal protection under the law."
"Decades ago, parents in the Topeka area stood up for their children and fought against segregation, ultimately leading to a vital Supreme Court decision that changed our nation for the better," said Senator Marshall. "Kansas has a rich history of engagement in the fight for civil rights and these historical sites hold a special place in our hearts. I am proud to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to advance this important legislation so future generations can continue to learn about these pivotal times in American history."
"With the passage of the Brown v. Board National Historic Site Expansion Act to designate all of the sites associated with this monumental Supreme Court case, history is not just memorialized but also made whole," said Paul Edmondson, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "At the National Trust, we have been diligently working to reveal and amplify a more complete view of our national history and we're pleased to have partnered with Senator Coons and Congressman Clyburn in this important work. The heroism of the communities, parents and schoolchildren who dared to demand equal access to education can now be properly celebrated through these historic places."
"This preservation process reveals how all history is truly made," said Brent Leggs, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. "So often it takes more than one great man, woman or even a single community to create change, despite the way the stories of history are often recounted. Actually, it requires many "ordinary people with extraordinary vision' to move a society forward. We applaud those courageous attorneys, families, and activists, some known and others unknown, who put so much at risk to secure educational equality for all Americans. Thanks to our preservation partners, the full history of this landmark case will forever be memorialized and interpreted to inspire the next generation of social justice leaders."
The 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was described by constitutional scholar Louis H. Pollak as "probably the most important American government act of any kind since the Emancipation Proclamation." The Brown decision transformed the United States, striking down the separate-but-equal doctrine established byPlessy v. Ferguson in 1896. The Plessy decision was the linchpin that condoned and entrenched legalized segregation across the South, despite protections clearly stated in the U.S. Constitution and underscored by the 14th and 15th Amendments.
These laws stayed in placed for nearly 100 years after Reconstruction, but pioneering civil rights lawyers like Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, William Hastie, Constance Baker Motley, Louis Lorenzo Redding, and others challenged the constitutionality of segregation and won. The Brown decision ended the practice of legalized segregation in educational facilities and was a major catalyst of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.
The history of Brown v. Board of Education is represented in our national consciousness by a single building, Monroe School, which is a National Historic Site located in Topeka, Kansas. This limited geographic scope condenses public memory of these events and inadvertently fails to recognize the contributions of the other communities in Claymont, Delaware; Hockessin, Delaware; Wilmington, Delaware; Summerton, South Carolina; Farmville, Virginia; and the District of Columbia that were also important to the fight for equality and that saw their cases consolidated with the Brown case. The geographic dispersion of these locations demonstrates that Brown v. Board of Education is truly a story of a national struggle with national significance.
"Recognizing Hockessin Colored School #107 as an affiliated area of the National Park System is a fitting tribute to Delaware's unique role in the Brown decision," said the Honorable Collins J. Seitz, Jr., Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. "Of the five cases appealed in Brown, the Delaware decision in Belton v. Gebhart -- requiring the immediate admission of African American students to schools attended by white children -- was the only appeal affirmed by the Supreme Court."
"The family of Louis L. Redding commends the preservation of these historic schools as reminders of the hard-won rights of African Americans to equal access in education," said JB Redding, on behalf of the family of Louis L. Redding, Delaware's first Black attorney and the lawyer who argued the Delaware school desegregation cases. "Further, their existence serves as a reminder that the struggle for full implementation of these rights continues."
"With the path to the infamous Brown v. Board of Education beginning its genesis in Summerton, South Carolina, with the Briggs v. Elliott case, the Clarendon School District One's Board of Trustees and residents of the local community are humbled and honored to have two historic facilities entrusted to the National Park Service," said former Superintendent Barbara Champagne of Clarendon County, South Carolina. "The designation of the Summerton School and the Scott's Branch School is steeped in the authentic American story of the journey for equality and equity. The voices of those courageous men and women who were given the vision for better opportunities and for equitable resources will not remain silent or forgotten. Instead, their voices will echo through the annals of history as a reminder of what can be achieved through determination, perseverance, and faith."
"The Robert R. Moton Museum is excited to join with communities involved in the historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision. In seeking to become an affiliated area of the National Park Service, we know this affiliation will allow us the opportunity to better collaborate with other communities involved in the historic Brown decision as we work to ensure that countless individuals have the opportunity to know of the courage and sacrifice that citizens made towards equality in education," said Cameron D. Patterson, Executive Director of the Robert R. Moton Museum in Farmville, Virginia. "The Moton Museum Board of Trustees, Moton Museum Community Council, and our partner institution Longwood University in offering their support towards this effort, recognize that the resources and benefits offered from this affiliation with the National Park Service will only strengthen our ability to fulfill our mission as a museum."
The creation of NPS Affiliated Areas in Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia for sites associated with the Brown v. Board of Education case and an expansion of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site to include the related sites in South Carolina provides an opportunity for these sites to tell their own uplifting, under-recognized stories of students, parents, and their allies who helped shape American society.
Enactment of this legislation has the potential to appropriately recognize the sites associated with the other four court cases and help them to combine current uses with preservation and public education. In collaboration with local partners and other stakeholders, the National Trust will continue their collective work to bring recognition to communities that fought for school integration, helping these sites to tell their own history of the Brown v. Board of Education case and make connections to other communities engaged in the fight for educational equity, past and present.
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