PUBLIC LAW 102-525 [S.2890]: October 26, 1992

BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

For Signing Statement of Act, see Statement for P.I. 102-525 in U.S.C.C. & A. N. Legislative History Section.

An act ot provide for the establishment of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in the State of Kansas, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives o fThe United States of Ameica in Congress assembled.

TITLE 1--BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS

As used in this title--

(1) the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior

(2) The term "historic site" means the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site as established in section 103

SEC. 102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.--The Congress finds as follows:

(1) The Supreme Court, in 1954, ruled that the earlier 1896 Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that permitted segregation of races in elementary schools violated the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of the law.
(2) In the 1954 proceedings, Oliver Brown and 12 other plaintiffs successfully challenged an 1879 Kansas Law that had been patterned after the law in question in Plessy v. Ferguson after the Topeka, Kansas, Board of Education refused to enroll Mr. Brown's daughter Linda.
(3) Sumner Elementary, the all-white school that refused to enroll Linda Brown, and Monroe Elementary, the segregated school she was forced to attend, have subsequently been designated National Historic Landmarks in recognition of their national significance.
(4) Sumner Elementary, an active school, is administered by the Topeka Board of Education; Monroe Elementary, closed in 1975 due to declining enrollment, is privately owned and stands vacant.

(b) PURPOSES.--The purposes of this title are--

(1) preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations, the places that contributed materially to the landmark United States Supreme Court decision that brought and end to segregation in public education;
(2) interpret the integral role of the Brown v. Board of Education case in the civil rights movement; and
(3) assist in the preservation and interpretation of related resources within the city of Topeka that further the understanding of the civil rights movement.

SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION: BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

(a) IN GENERAL.--There is hereby established as a unit of the National Park System the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in the State of Kansas.
(b) DESCRIPTION.--The historic site shall consist of the Monroe Elementary School site in the city o fTopeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, as generally depicted on a map entitled "Brown v. Baord of Education National Historic Site," numbered Appendix A and dated June 1992. Such map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices in the National Park Service.

The Secretary is authorized to acquire by donation, exchange, or purchase with donated or appropriated funds the real property described in section 103(b). Any property owned by the States of Kansas or any political subdivision thereof may also acquire by the same methods personal property associated with, and appropriate for , the interpretation of the historic site: Provided, however, That the Secretary may not acquire such jpersonal property without the consent of the owner.

(a) IN GENERAL--The Secretary shall adminsiter the historic site in accordance with this title and th elaws generally applicable to units of the National Park System, including the Acto of August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535), and the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666).
(b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.--The Secretary is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with private as well as pbulic agencies, organizations, and institutions in furtherance of the purposes of this title.
(c) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.--Within two complete fiscal years after funds are made available, th eSecretary shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate a general management plan for the historic site.

There are authorzed to be appropriated $1,250,000 to carry out the purposes of this title including land acquisition and initial development.

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