Political Quotes

“I appreciate the opportunity to speak on behalf of this bill, H.R. 579, a bill to designate the United States courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse. Mr. Speaker, Richard Jess Brown was born on September 12, 1912, in Coffeyville, Kansas. His parents, Ernestine and Joe Brown, were jazz musicians and performed in and managed a local theater. R. Jess Brown received a bachelor's of science in industrial arts from Illinois State Normal University and a master's of science in industrial education from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. After teaching at Alcorn State University, R. Jess Brown moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he taught industrial arts at Lanier High School, the only Black high school in the city at the time. While teaching at Lanier, R. Jess Brown became an intervening plaintiff in a lawsuit that sought equal pay for Black teachers in Jackson. After teaching in Jackson, Jess attended Texas Southern University law school. Jess left the law school before receiving his juris doctorate but was able to return to Mississippi and pass the Mississippi Bar in 1953. Beginning his career in Vicksburg, Mississippi, R. Jess Brown confined his practice to cases involving divorces, deeds, land titles, and other practices that did not agitate White members of the bar. However, after the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling in 1954, Jess felt compelled to defend the civil rights of African Americans.…”