IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 588 
Honoring the bravery and legacy of the Clinton 12. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 17, 2021 
Mr. COOPER (for himself, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, and Ms. NORTON) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the bravery and legacy of the Clinton 12. 
Whereas education in the United States is a fundamental 
right; 
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States unani-
mously ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial 
segregation in public education is unconstitutional; 
Whereas the school system in Clinton, Tennessee, began to 
desegregate in 1956 as the result of a court order; 
Whereas the students who desegregated Clinton High School 
were Jo Ann Allen Boyce, Bobby Cain, Anna Therreser 
Caswell, Minnie Ann Dickey Jones, Gail Ann Epps 
Upton, Ronald Gordon Hayden, William Latham, Alvah 
J. McSwain Lambert, Maurice Soles, Robert Thacker, 
Regina Turner Smith, and Alfred Williams; 
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•HRES 588 IH 
Whereas these students known as the ‘‘Clinton 12’’ were 
among the first students to desegregate a public high 
school in Tennessee, and among the first students to de-
segregate any school in the South after Brown v. Board 
of Education; 
Whereas, in August 1956, the Clinton 12 were pursued on 
their walks to school by white supremacists including the 
Ku Klux Klan, were threatened with violence, and in 
some cases were forced to flee the community; 
Whereas for years the town of Clinton was the target of 
white supremacy that resulted in the calling of the Na-
tional Guard to protect the students and culminated in 
the bombing of Clinton High School in 1958, which was 
never solved; 
Whereas amid this racism and violence, the Clinton 12 
walked to school to pursue the right to an equal edu-
cation; and 
Whereas students across the United States today still face 
discrimination and inequities in educational opportuni-
ties: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) honors the members of the Clinton 12; 
(2) commends their bravery and perseverance in 
the face of hate; 
(3) recognizes the courage of their families and 
friends who were subjected to racially motivated vio-
lence and intimidation in the years following the de-
segregation of Clinton High School; 
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(4) remembers the words of the late Represent-
ative John Lewis who said in commemorating the 
Clinton 12, ‘‘Thank you for standing up. Thank you 
for getting in the way. Thank you for being you.’’; 
and 
(5) calls for the fulfillment of the promise by 
the United States Supreme Court that all students 
be afforded equal protection under the law, and 
‘‘separate educational facilities are inherently un-
equal.’’. 
Æ 
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