Washington, DC – On the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today issued the following statement:  

“Today, we are marking the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, an enormously important day in the lives of African Americans and in the history of this country.  Almost without question, Brown is the most important Supreme Court case of the twentieth century.  With Brown, the Court threw out decades of doctrine and centuries of racist practice in this country in their conclusion that ‘Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.’ This decision forced this nation to begin to live up to its own promises and its own ideals, and thanks to their efforts and those of many civil rights activists, Brown became the reality of the nation, not just the law of the land.”

“Today, Brown is still the law of the land, but it is no longer a national reality.  Legal walls of segregation have been replaced in many areas by de facto separation by neighborhood and community. Our schools are becoming less integrated by the year, and in too many cases, integration has vanished entirely from some schools.”

“Does this mean that Brown v Board of Education failed? No, but it means that our revolution is not yet over.  It means that our revolution is still incomplete. On this anniversary, we must rededicate ourselves to carry out the victories that were won so hard 50 years ago by Thurgood Marshall, Linda Brown, and so many others.”

“Today we celebrate that moment, and we rededicate ourselves to ensuring that justice thrives in this country.”

 

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