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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 905 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 905

Recognizing the role of the Scarboro 85 in the desegregation of public 
  schools following the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the 
             United States in Brown v. Board of Education.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            November 21 (legislative day, November 20), 2024

 Mrs. Blackburn (for herself and Mr. Hagerty) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Recognizing the role of the Scarboro 85 in the desegregation of public 
  schools following the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the 
             United States in Brown v. Board of Education.

Whereas, on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered a 
        unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), 
        holding that--

    (1) separate educational facilities are inherently unequal; and

    (2) the ``separate but equal'' doctrine violated the 14th Amendment of 
the Constitution of the United States, which states that no citizen may be 
denied equal protection under the law;

Whereas, in a second opinion issued on May 31, 1955, the Supreme Court of the 
        United States decreed that schools should be desegregated ``with all 
        deliberate speed'';
Whereas, on September 6, 1955, Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior 
        High, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, became the first public schools 
        in the Southeast region to implement the ruling of the Supreme Court of 
        the United States in Brown v. Board of Education;
Whereas the integration of Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High 
        was conducted in a peaceful manner;
Whereas the ``Scarboro 85'' consisted of the 85 African American students from 
        Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who led the historic integration of public schools 
        in the Southeast, including--

    (1) Ernestine Avery;

    (2) Donald Avery;

    (3) Willis Lee Avery;

    (4) Richard Bates;

    (5) Robert Berry;

    (6) Will C. Booker;

    (7) Stella Brantley;

    (8) Marshall Butler;

    (9) Jaqueline Bynam;

    (10) William Henry Carroll;

    (11) Pete Clark;

    (12) Randolph Collins;

    (13) Evindies Copeland;

    (14) Ethel Davidson;

    (15) Minnie Davidson;

    (16) Lola B. Dowdell;

    (17) Georgia Lee Dowdell;

    (18) James Drake;

    (19) Willie Lee Edwards;

    (20) Shirley Reed Freeman;

    (21) John D. Ghosten Jr.;

    (22) L.C. Gipson;

    (23) Nannie Mae Goodman;

    (24) Lawrence Graham;

    (25) Mazie Graham;

    (26) Rufus Graham;

    (27) Henry Fred Guinn;

    (28) Gwendolyn Guinn;

    (29) Margaret Strickland Guinn;

    (30) Eugene Hawkins;

    (31) Roberta Hawkins;

    (32) Shirley Hawkins;

    (33) Helen Hill;

    (34) Mable Jean Hill;

    (35) Robert Hill;

    (36) Deloris Holmes;

    (37) Edward Holmes;

    (38) Dorothy Ann Hudgens;

    (39) A.C. Hunter Jr.;

    (40) Webster Jackson;

    (41) Leroy Justice;

    (42) Willie Frank Kirk;

    (43) Archie Lee;

    (44) Jo Ann Lee;

    (45) Charles Lewis;

    (46) Dorothy Kirk Lewis;

    (47) Jimmy Lewis;

    (48) Spencer Lindsay;

    (49) Ernestine Maddox;

    (50) Bernice Mahone;

    (51) Leon Mahone;

    (52) Mary Ellen Mahone;

    (53) Winfred Malone;

    (54) Barbara Jean Mason;

    (55) Emma McCaskill;

    (56) Paul Kylene McCaskill;

    (57) Jesse McClanahan;

    (58) Alma McKinney;

    (59) Eloise Mitchell;

    (60) Maxine Officer;

    (61) Barbara Sue Perry;

    (62) Bobby Phillips;

    (63) Amos William Robinson;

    (64) Arthur Charles Robinson;

    (65) Hazel Marie Robinson;

    (66) C.H. Shannon;

    (67) Mary Jo Shannon;

    (68) Barbara Jean Sims;

    (69) Willy Smith;

    (70) Sarah Mae Spratling;

    (71) Emma Jean Strickland;

    (72) Pearl Strickland;

    (73) Frank Summerville;

    (74) Joe Summerville;

    (75) Edward Lewis Threat;

    (76) Joe Torry;

    (77) Charles Walker;

    (78) Estelle Warmley;

    (79) Donald Washington;

    (80) Joe West Jr.;

    (81) Roy Lee White;

    (82) Leroy Williams;

    (83) Nehemiah Williams; and

    (84) 2 additional students, names unknown;

Whereas Lawrence Graham Jr., Henry Fred Guinn, and Robert Berry of the Scarboro 
        85 were the first African American students to participate in public 
        school and university athletics in the Southeast region;
Whereas African American staff members of Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville 
        Junior High included--

    (1) Fred Brown;

    (2) Douglas Freeman;

    (3) Hurley Hardin;

    (4) Ms. McSwain;

    (5) Mrs. Roach;

    (6) Madeline Scales; and

    (7) Mrs. Vernon; and

Whereas the Scarboro 85 were aided by pillars of the Oak Ridge community, 
        including--

    (1) the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church;

    (2) the Oak Valley Baptist Church;

    (3) the Spurgeon Chapel African American Methodist Episcopal Zion 
Church; and

    (4) the Scarboro Church of Christ: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate recognizes and celebrates--
            (1) the Scarboro 85 as the first group of African American 
        students to integrate public schools in the Southeast region 
        following the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the 
        United States in Brown v. Board of Education; and
            (2) the role of the Scarboro 85 in leading the 
        desegregation movement in the Southeast region.
                                 <all>
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