S.C. sites recognized for role in desegregation

The legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate on April 6. It now goes to President Biden for his signature.

The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Expansion Act modifies legislation enacted in 1992 that established a National Parks Service site at the Monroe School building in Topeka, Kansas to mark the landmark Supreme Court decision that desegregated public schools.

This law will expand the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site to include locations in the three other states and Washington, D.C. to recognize all five cases that were combined as Brown v. Board of Education.

With the enactment of this legislation, the National Parks Service will expand the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site to include historic sites in South Carolina and designate National Park Service Affiliated Areas in other states. The additional sites are:

• Summerton School and Scott’s Branch Schools in Summerton, South Carolina to represent Briggs v. Elliott,

• Hockessin Colored School #107 and Howard High School in Wilmington, Delaware to represent Belton v. Gebhart,

• The former Robert Russa Moton School, now a museum, in Farmville, Virginia to represent Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, and

• The John Phillip Sousa Junior High School in the District of Columbia to represent Boiling v. Sharpe.

The legislation was crafted in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott were among the co-sponsors of the legislation in the Senate. Clyburn was the lead sponsor in the House.

“The integration of our nation’s public school system was a critical step toward making America’s greatness accessible to all of her citizens,” Clyburn said. “Brown v. Board of Education and its companion cases undeniably chartered a course forward, creating educational equity in communities across the country.”

Graham said, “South Carolina played a prominent role in one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions in the history of our nation. It is important we protect and preserve these historical sites so future generations can learn from them.”

“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,” Scott said. “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.”