On the recordMay 17, 2016
I rise to discuss--along with my friends and colleagues on the Senate floor--what is a momentous anniversary for our country, the 62nd anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, its legacy, and the work that still remains before us. I thank my colleagues for standing and speaking on this anniversary and understanding that it was 62 years ago today the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that separate could never be equal, that under the law--at the very least--every child born in America, regardless of the color of their skin, had the right to pursue a quality education. The Court found that separate schooling of children based on their race was in direct violation of the 14th amendment of the Constitution. The Court's finding is perhaps best summarized by this excerpt from Justice Warren's opinion when he said: We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other ``tangible'' factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does. Those were historical words. This not only made clear at the time that the deep and profound illegality of segregation was real, but it set a legal standard for generations in posterity that reflects our deepest held American values, that we as a nation believe in equality. We as a nation believe in our interdependency to one another.…
