Senate passes bill to commemorate Brown v. Board of Education sites

The purpose of this legislation—first introduced by U.S. Sen. 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 integration of our nation’s public school system was a critical step toward making America’s greatness accessible to all of her citizens,” said 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 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.”

“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.”

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 by Plessy 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.

“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. “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.”