Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions S498

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. HOLLINGS (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM of South Carolina, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. MILLER, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Ms. LANDRIEU):

S. 498. A bill to authorize the President to posthumously award a gold medal on behalf of Congress to Joseph A. DeLaine in recognition of his contributions to the Nation; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to present Rev. Joseph A. De Laine the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor for his heroic sacrifices to desegregate our public schools. His crusade to break down barriers in education forever scarred his own life, but led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954.

Eight years before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, Reverend De Laine, a minister and principal, organized African-American parents to petition the Summerton, SC, school board for a bus and gasoline so their children would not have to walk 10 miles to attend a segregated school. A year later, in Briggs v. Elliot, the parents sued to end segregation. It was a case that as a young lawyer I watched Thurgood Marshall argue before the Supreme Court as one of the five cases collectively known as Brown v. Board of Education. For this Senator, their arguments helped to shape my view on racial matters.

For his efforts, Reverend De Laine was subjected to a reign of domestic terrorism. He lost his job. He watched his church and home burn. He was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill after shots were fired at his home and he fired back to mark the car. He had to leave South Carolina forever; relocate to New York, where he started an AME Church, and he eventually retired in North Carolina. Not until the year 2000, 26 years after his death and 45 years after the incident in his home was Reverend De Laine cleared of all charges.

Last year, I spoke to the 100 descendants of Briggs v. Elliott, and I ask unanimous consent that my remarks be printed in the RECORD, which show the bravery of Reverend De Laine during a troubled time in our Nation's past, and which point to the immeasurable benefits he has given our Nation.