H*5053 Concurrent Resolution, By Harvin, Breeland, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, 
Gourdine, Govan, J. Hines, M. Hines, Hosey, Jennings, Kennedy, Lee, M. McLeod, 
McMahand, Moody-Lawrence, J.H. Neal, F. Smith and Whipper
 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FILING
 OF BRIGGS V. ELLIOTT, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL LAWSUITS THAT, ALONG WITH THREE
 OTHER SIMILAR CASES NATIONALLY, LED TO THE LANDMARK DECISION BY THE UNITED
 STATES SUPREME COURT IN 1954 THAT "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL" IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN
 PUBLIC EDUCATION IN AMERICA.

   05/10/00  House  Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate HJ-2
   05/16/00  Senate Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence SJ-10

COMMEMORATING THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FILING OF BRIGGS V. ELLIOTT, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL LAWSUITS THAT, ALONG WITH THREE OTHER SIMILAR CASES NATIONALLY, LED TO THE LANDMARK DECISION BY THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT IN 1954 THAT "SEPARATE BUT EQUAL" IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN PUBLIC EDUCATION IN AMERICA.

Whereas, half a century ago, a group of courageous, unselfish South Carolinians dedicated themselves toward building a better America; with total disregard for their own personal safety, jobs, and property, these remarkable Clarendon County citizens filed the first of the legal challenges which attacked racial segregation in the public schools and which led, ultimately, to the ending of such segregation; and

Whereas, this lawsuit, Briggs v. Elliott, was filed in federal court in Charleston on May 16, 1950; and

Whereas, these daring citizens of Clarendon County, the plaintiffs in the federal suit, were under the leadership of the Reverend Joseph Armstrong DeLaine and received the assistance of eighth generation South Carolinian, federal Judge J. Waties Waring, with the legendary Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP at the forefront of their cause; and

Whereas, Briggs v. Elliott was combined with three similar lawsuits from other parts of the United States; these cases were eventually heard by the United States Supreme Court and resulted in the landmark decision known by the title of Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka, Kansas) in 1954, striking down the doctrine of "separate but equal" in public education and paving the way for the integration of the public schools in every section of this great country; and

Whereas, the Clarendon County plaintiffs, as well as others in the African-American community whose names were not affixed to the lawsuit, suffered mental, physical, and financial reprisals for being so bold as to seek to secure for their children and for their children's children and for the generations to follow a better life; and

Whereas, the Briggs v. Elliott lawsuit contained the names and signatures of twenty brave Clarendon County parents whose children were at that time forced to receive their education in a segregated school system which was, clearly, separate and unequal; the Briggs v. Elliott plaintiffs were the following: Harvey Briggs; Annie Gibson; Mose Oliver; Bennie Parson; Edward Ragin; William Ragin; Lucrisha Richardson; Lee Richardson; James H. Bennett; Mary Oliver; William M. "Bo" Stukes; G. H. Henry; Robert Georgia; Rebecca Richburg; Gabriel Tindal; Susan Lawson; Frederick Oliver; Onetha Bennett; Hazel Ragin; and Henry Scott; and

Whereas, now that five decades have passed since this momentous legal challenge was filed, it is indeed fitting and proper to acknowledge its history-making impact and commemorate its fiftieth anniversary. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, solemnly commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the filing of Briggs v. Elliott, one of the original lawsuits that, along with three other similar cases nationally, led to the landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court in 1954 that "separate but equal" is unconstitutional in public education in America.