Honoring and recognizing the dedication and achievements of Thurgood Marshall on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from California (Mr. Schiff), congratulate Mr. Payne for his leadership on this effort, and Mr. Gohmert for his joining in bringing this legislation to the floor.

I come from the State of Maryland, and Thurgood Marshall is one of the great sons of our State. But I must tell you something that you will find, I think, ironic. If you go to the State capitol which is the oldest State capitol still in use as a State capitol in this country, and you look on the east front of the capitol and you walk out the front, there is a statue on the east front that overlooks the Annapolis harbor, and that statue is of a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from the State of Maryland. His name is Roger Brooke Taney, the author of the Dred Scott decision.

But if you walk out the door to the west and look out on Rowe Boulevard, there is another statue, another Justice, another son of Maryland; and that Justice is Thurgood Marshall.

I have always thought it somewhat ironic that juxtaposed in the Maryland State Capitol are these two justices, both of whom were learned, both of whom served their country, one of whom, however, whose judgment was skewed by the times in which he grew up, whose brilliance was diminished by his failure to see the promise of America, and another who--notwithstanding the fact that he was discriminated against and his people were discriminated against by a country that professed a promise of equal opportunity for all. Nevertheless, the love for his country rose above that segregated environment to preach the principles and to seek their reality.

Today we recall the life and legacy of one of America's champions of civil rights, Thurgood Marshall. Justice Marshall is, as I have said, one of Maryland's greatest sons.

If you come to my office and visit the majority leader's office, you will see, just outside of my door, six portraits of very distinguished Marylanders. One, the first President of the United States, John Hanson. Now, I know that George Washington was technically first President of the United States of America, but John Hanson was the first president of the Continental Congress. You will see others, signers of the Declaration of Independence, but there will be that picture just outside of my door of Thurgood Marshall, because of what he stood for and what his life stands for today.

Few lives were as consequential to the cause of American equality, and it's fitting that we pause the work of legislating and remember that life. Thurgood Marshall said that his life-long fascination with the Constitution began in grade school, when, as a punishment, interestingly, as a punishment, a teacher forced him to read it cover to cover. Even then he must have been struck by the gulf between that document's promise of equal protection and the reality of a segregated America, a gulf that turned that promise into a lie for millions of our citizens.

Thurgood Marshall spent his career working to restore that promise and dismantling the structures of segregation piece by piece. Nearly two decades before the famous case of Brown vs. Board of Education, he was at the forefront of a legal movement that aimed to chip away at discrimination through the courts.

His first victory was also in some ways his sweetest. He convinced the Maryland Court of Appeals to desegregate the University of Maryland law school 6 years after that very school had barred him on account of his race. Over the years to come, he rarely lost a case. In fact, he won 29 out of 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court.

Another famous Marylander and his wife, whom I know, is Speaker Jackson, himself a distinguished African American leader of a distinguished African American family. I know so well the Mitchell family, Clarence Mitchell, Jr., the NAACP's representative in Washington, known as the 100th Senator; and Juanita Jackson Mitchell, one of the first African Americans admitted to the University of Maryland law school.

Some of the credit must go to Thurgood Marshall and his legendary powers of persuasion. But credit, I think, also belongs to the powerful simplicity of his argument that separate can never be equal, that the Constitution belongs to Americans of all colors. His career as an advocate culminated with Brown, which overturned ``separate but equal,'' and it overturned it for good. Not only did it overturn it finally, but also for the good of our people.

Thurgood Marshall later distinguished himself as a Federal judge and a solicitor general before President Lyndon Johnson nominated him as America's first African American Supreme Court justice. President Johnson called the appointment, and I quote, ``The right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man, and the right place.''

Justice Marshall, of course, as we all know, proved him absolutely correct.

He served on the Court with distinction for almost a quarter of a century as one of its leading defenders of individual liberty and civil rights. Other civil rights leaders gave us inspiration, uplift and prophetic challenge. Thurgood Marshall added something to that contribution, dogged advocacy and the discipline of the law.

As a newspaper editorial put it at the time of his death, ``We make movies about Malcolm X, we get a holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. But every day we live with the legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall.'' Thurgood Marshall would be the first to acknowledge just how far America remains from the promise of equality, an equality that exists in fact, every bit as in law.

But he would be the last to be discouraged. He said that ``A child born to a black mother in a State like Mississippi, by merely drawing its first breath in the democracy has exactly the same right as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States. It's not true, but I challenge anyone to say it's not a goal worth working for.''

The great thing that we remember about Thurgood Marshall, as I said at the beginning, is that confronted with segregation, confronted with racism, confronted with a negative reaction to his color, he, as so many civil rights leaders have done in the past, as Nelson Mandela did in South Africa, as so many other civil rights leaders throughout this world have done, he rose above the hate and the division to bring clarity to our Constitution and unity to our people.

How appropriate it is to remember Thurgood Marshall on the eve of his 100th year.

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

Mr. Speaker, I again thank my friend from California, I thank the chairman of the committee, the ranking member of the committee, and those who have worked on this bill.

I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 381 honoring and recognizing the dedication and achievements of Thurgood Marshall on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Thurgood Marshall, born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 2, 1908, was the grandson of a slave. But after graduating first in his class from Howard Law School in 1933, he went on to serve as the legal director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and argued over 30 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. He won 29 of them, including the landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which held that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

Thurgood Marshall, as most people know, was later nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the

Second Circuit by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. He served there as the first African American Solicitor General from 1965 to 1967. And in 1967, he was nominated by President Johnson to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, its first African American member.

I recall the days before I took the oath as a district judge back in Texas. I was told by a retired judge who was dying of cancer that it was a good job and a noble job, but that it would be the loneliest job I had ever held. I can only imagine that would have been true for any Supreme Court Justice, but particularly true for the first African American Justice on the Supreme Court. It had to be a lonely job; yet he honored himself and he honored this country with his brilliant work.

Thurgood Marshall will be remembered for the many Supreme Court decisions he had a hand in writing, including the concurring opinion in Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos.

Justice Marshall made so much in the way of contributions that are so far-reaching and still very timely today. For example, we have had the remaining Presidential candidates of both political parties express support for allowing faith-based organizations to take part in Federal social service programs. So it is worth remembering that in the Amos case Justice Marshall joined with Justice Brennan in stating that section 702(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was constitutional. That section of the Civil Rights Act has, from its inception, exempted nonprofit, private religious organizations engaged in both religious and secular nonprofit activities from title VII's prohibition on discrimination in employment on the basis of religion. If religious organizations are to be allowed to join Federal social service efforts, they must be allowed to remain religious organizations, and they can only do so if they are allowed to be free to compose themselves of individuals who share their religious world view. Justice Marshall recognized that, and so should we.

He even had something to say about vouchers for education. In Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind, Justice Marshall upheld a voucher program in which ``vocational assistance is provided under a program that is paid directly to the student, who transmits it to the educational institution of his or her choice.'' Justice Marshall held that such programs are constitutional where the resources ``ultimately flow to religious institutions as a result of the genuinely independent and private choices of aid recipients.''

It is also worth noting that he did allow exception to the Civil Rights Act to allow religious institutions to hire people who agreed with their religious beliefs.

I would urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 381 in recognizing Justice Marshall's judicial legacy. It was profound, it was far-reaching, and it changed the country for the good. That rich legacy includes his support for the right of religious organizations to maintain their religious identity, for government voucher programs that allow individuals to exercise free and independent choices, even when those best choices or services are provided by religious organizations. It is a real honor for me to get to honor the legacy of Thurgood Marshall.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would yield to my friend, Mr. Chabot from Ohio, such time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. But in the spirit with which Thurgood Marshall conducted himself, I can't help but think,

as the son of a teacher, that he would be pleased if the name of the teacher that may have changed history by having him memorize part of the Constitution had her or his name entered, and if no one on the floor knows who that is, Mr. Speaker, I would ask unanimous consent for 48 hours to revise and extend my remarks so that we get the name of that teacher that helped this student, Thurgood Marshall, change history be inserted into the Congressional Record.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Let me begin by thanking my fellow colleagues, Mr. Sherman included, who joined me in the cosponsorship of this commemorative resolution, which honors Justice Thurgood Marshall's legacy and his dedication to civil rights and public service.

Thurgood Marshall was born the grandson of a slave back in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 2, 1908. Marshall's mother, Norma Marshall, was one of the first black persons to graduate from Columbia Teacher's College in New York City. His father, William Canfield Marshall, worked as a railroad porter and as head steward at an exclusive white club. Mr. Marshall was the first black person to serve on a grand jury in Baltimore in the 20th century.

Thurgood Marshall grew up in Baltimore and graduated from an all- black high school at the age of 16. During his childhood, his parents taught him to argue by making him prove every statement he made and by challenging every point he made. At school, as it was mentioned earlier, when Thurgood Marshall got into trouble, the principal would make him sit in the basement and read the U.S. Constitution.

Students couldn't return to class until a section of the Constitution was memorized. Evidently Thurgood Marshall had an opportunity, because he memorized a great deal of the Constitution, but that moved him into the interest of being a lawyer rather than a dentist, which his mother wanted him to be.

After graduating from high school, Justice Marshall attended Lincoln University, a historically black university in Chester, Pennsylvania, a school that many outstanding blacks from the United States and abroad went to, including the first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah.

However, education was such a priority for the Marshall family that Mrs. Marshall sold her engagement ring in order to send Thurgood Marshall to school. After his graduation with honors at Lincoln University, Justice Marshall applied to the University of Maryland Law School. He was not accepted because he was black, and that set in motion the events of his future.

That same year, Marshall was accepted at Howard Law School, and he went on to graduate in the class of 1933. Upon graduating, Justice Marshall started his own practice in Baltimore. The next year he discovered the NAACP and became an active member.

As a matter of fact, Justice Marshall then sued the University of Maryland's law school, where he was not admitted, and won the case about discrimination. So he did get justice in the end.

From 1940 to 1961, Thurgood Marshall served as legal director of the NAACP, which allowed him to travel throughout the United States representing numerous court cases. Most of the clients had disputes involving questions of racial justice, which ranged from common crimes to appellate advocacy, raising the most intricate matters of constitutional law.

I had the privilege to follow his work very closely, because I was then president in the middle 1950s of the NAACP youth councils in college chapters and attended the NAACP convention in Detroit in 1957 when Dr. Martin Luther King received the Spingarn Award.

Of course, Thurgood Marshall was still a person that we all admired. As we heard, out of the 32 cases, he won 29 of them, earning more Supreme Court victories than any other individual before the Supreme Court and as chief counsel of the NAACP, the landmark Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which overturned Plessy v. Ferguson of 1897, saying that ``separate but equal'' was constitutional.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals in the Second Circuit, despite heavy opposition from many southern Senators. Thurgood Marshall served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1961 to 1965. As we heard, he wrote 112 opinions, none of which was overturned on appeal.

In 1965, President Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to the position of solicitor general, which he held from 1965 to 1967. Then in 1967, President Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall as the first African American Justice to serve on the Supreme Court.

During his 24 years of service in the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall promoted affirmative action and sought protection for the rights of all Americans.

In 1992, he was honored with the Liberty Medal recognizing his long history of protecting individual rights of women, children, prisoners, and homeless.

Justice Marshall once said, ``Sometimes history takes things into its own hands.'' His commitment to civil rights and public service resonate still today. I ask you to listen to the words of Justice Marshall and strongly support this resolution by recognizing his contributions to humanity, acknowledged July 2, 2008, the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 381) honoring and recognizing the dedication and achievements of Thurgood Marshall on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, this resolution commemorates the life and work of Thurgood Marshall on the 100th anniversary of his birth, which was July 2, 1908.

I commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) for his leadership in allowing us to recognize an American whose life work was marked by the principles of justice, equality, and freedom, and I am pleased to cosponsor this legislation.

It is hard to know where to begin in reciting Justice Marshall's accomplishments. While best known for breaking the color barrier on the Supreme Court, Justice Marshall is honored because he was an expert jurist who worked on behalf of all Americans. Born 100 years ago in Baltimore, Maryland, and with just one generation between him and slavery, Thurgood Marshall experienced its legacy of segregation and racist hatred in his own time.

Rather than allow that legacy to defeat him, however, he dedicated his life to removing its stain from our society. His courageous determination propelled him to success in the classroom, in the courtroom, and on the bench.

When he was denied admission on the basis of race to the University of Maryland's School of Law, he attended Howard University's School of Law and graduated first in his class in 1933.

When he challenged the separate-but-equal status quo in his capacity as legal director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, from 1940 through 1961, he won 29 out of 32 cases before the Supreme Court, the most Supreme Court cases won by any attorney.

Later, as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1961 to 1965, he would author 112 opinions, with not one of them being overturned.

Thurgood Marshall would continue his service to this country in two very distinguished capacities. He served as the first African American Solicitor General, from 1965 until 1967. That year, he was appointed associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, the first African American Justice, where he served until he retired in 1991.

While Justice Marshall is best known for his lead role in the cases culminating in the 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which laid the foundation for the dismantling of Jim Crow segregation, he fought racial segregation in every aspect of society, and this pursuit for a fair and just America made him one of the Nation's best advocates of civil rights.

In Chambers v. Florida, he challenged a biased criminal justice system. In Shelley v. Kraemer, he challenged discrimination in housing. And in Smith v. Allwright, he challenged inequitable voting practices.

Finally, in commemorating Justice Marshall, we acknowledge not just a good lawyer and judge, but a good man who reminded us that ``in recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.''

Thurgood Marshall should be remembered as an individual who raised the morale, spirit and conscience of this country and who tirelessly fought social injustice throughout his life.

I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this resolution that calls upon us to recognize the important legacy of Thurgood Marshall, a man who challenged and inspired Americans to live up to the principles and ideals on which this country was founded.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this point I would like to yield 1 minute to the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my great pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).

I yield the gentleman 30 additional seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I would now be delighted to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois, Danny Davis.

(Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their eloquent words, and I join them in urging the passage of this resolution recognizing a genuine American giant.

I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation that honors an individual of unprecedented stature and achievement. This leader was a fighter who stood boldly on the front lines of democracy to fight for liberty and equality for all. This legal giant is none other than the late Thurgood Marshall.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that we all can be great because we all can serve. It is my responsibility to pay tribute to the late great Thurgood Marshall who served our Nation by transforming it.

The late Thurgood Marshall put in place mechanisms to elevate the United States to its greatest potential. As a result, all Americans presently can reap the benefits of Thurgood

Marshall's arduous travail. One of his greatest victories was his work in the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. In Brown, the Supreme Court ruled that ``separate but equal'' public education was unconstitutional because it could never be truly equal.

Marshall's arguments before the Supreme Court were myriad and historic. In total, Marshall won an unprecedented 29 out of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On June 13, 1967, President Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court following the retirement of Justice Tom C. Clark. In appointing Marshall, President Johnson declared this was ``the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place.'' He was the 96th person to hold the position, and the first African-American.

Today I stand before you, as many of my colleagues do, as a proud product of Thurgood Marshall's vision for equal access to education. Because of Thurgood Marshall's profound vision, one's access to education is no longer dependent upon the color of their skin or their income, but upon the demonstration of their academic promise, and scholarly merit and capability. Notwithstanding Marshall's legendary achievements in civil rights, America has much work to do. In thinking of our progress, I am reminded of the Bible in Jeremiah 8:20, ``The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.'' America has reaped the harvest of Marshall's life, Marshall's life is now past, and America has much work to do in civil rights. American people are not yet saved. The problem of this century, as it has been in past centuries, is still the problem of the color line. America has made great strides in this regard. Nonetheless, America still has work to do.

Although there are still some barriers to overcome, Thurgood Marshall removed the road block that stymied America from being as good as its promise. Thurgood Marshall also impacted the international community. Mr. Marshall was asked by the United Nations and the United Kingdom to help draft the constitutions of the emerging African nations of Ghana and what is now Tanzania. It was felt that the person who so successfully fought for the rights of America's oppressed minority would be the perfect person to ensure the rights of all African citizens, both Black and White, in these two former European colonies.

Being the right man or woman at the right time is no easy task. There is no room for passiveness or reluctance to action. Following in the tradition of the late Thurgood Marshall, we, the representatives of the United States citizenry, are the right people at the right time. Although our current battles differ slightly from those of Thurgood Marshall, we are faced with our own battles which include, the economy, creating affordable housing, immigration, Iraq, the pursuit of energy independence, and making sure that our veterans are properly taken care of.

The precedent that the late Thurgood Marshall set, in fighting to make the U.S. as great as its promise, should be our motivation to pass good legislation to protect the rights of American people as we honor and recognize his dedication and achievements on this 100th anniversary of his birth.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in recognizing a true hero, Thurgood Marshall who died on January 24, 1993, at the age of 84. Let us honor his dedication and achievements as we recognize his contributions to the struggle for equal rights and justice in the United States.