R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 172, a bill to designate the Federal courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse.

Attorney R. Jess Brown was a towering champion during critical moments in the civil rights movement in the South and especially in Mississippi.

Jess Brown received his law degree from Texas Southern University and practiced law in Mississippi throughout the 1960s and the 1970s.

As an associate counsel for the NAACP, he filed the first civil rights suit in Mississippi in the 1950s. In 1961, he represented James Meredith in his suit to be allowed to enter the University of Mississippi.

His victory in this case opened doors that the University of Mississippi citizens had to walk through quite boldly, and I think that he doesn't get the credit that he deserves, Mr. Speaker.

It is important to note that, while with the NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational Fund, he played a major role in fighting racial discrimination in the areas of transportation and other public accommodations.

I support this legislation, Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to help me pass H.R. 172.

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