Congressman Al Green: On the 60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

(Washington, DC)--On May 21, 2014, Congressman Al Green offered the following statement in the Congressional Record on the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

"Mr. Speaker, on May 17, 2014, we marked the 60^th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which overturned legalized racial segregation. The importance of this decision for our jurisprudence and overall society cannot be understated. It was no less than a full-throated affirmation of the Fourteenth Amendment, granting all Americans full and equal citizenship.

"Any account of the history and enduring legacy of Brown v. Board of Education would be incomplete without an acknowledgment of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund under the leadership of their Executive Director, and future Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall. Marshall successfully argued that separate accommodations and treatment based on race necessarily leads to inequality.

"In closing, Mr. Speaker, I believe the 60^th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education is an opportunity for our nation to reaffirm our dedication to full and equal citizenship for all and to reexamine the enduring inequalities in our society. As a nation, we must never stop striving to better realize the ideals in and promise of our Constitution."