May 17, 2010, will mark the 56th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. This monumental decision ushered in an era of dialogue about race relations in this nation and broadened our discussion about the true meaning of social injustice. We commemorate the historic continuum of Brown v. Board of Education in the chain of legal challenges and legislation that ultimately resulted in the election of an African American to the U.S. Presidency. We owe a debt of gratitude to Charles Hamilton Houston, the late Dean of Howard University Law School and the brilliant legal team educated there. We owe a debt of gratitude to the community activists in Topeka, Kansas; Wilmington, Delaware; Summerton, South Carolina; Farmville, Virginia; and Washington, D.C. who bravely spoke truth to power. We owe a debt of gratitude to the NAACP for launching this national campaign to end disparate treatment of people of color.
We commemorate the Brown decision lest we forget the mistreatment, the loss of life, and the nonviolent movement that set an example for those pursuing human rights around the world. Our nation has been enriched by the contributions of its diverse citizenry.
Brown v. Board of Education commemoration location and program details to be announced.
