To designate the United States courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the "R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse".

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on behalf of this bill, H.R. 579, a bill to designate the United States courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse.

Mr. Speaker, Richard Jess Brown was born on September 12, 1912, in Coffeyville, Kansas. His parents, Ernestine and Joe Brown, were jazz musicians and performed in and managed a local theater.

R. Jess Brown received a bachelor's of science in industrial arts from Illinois State Normal University and a master's of science in industrial education from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

After teaching at Alcorn State University, R. Jess Brown moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he taught industrial arts at Lanier High School, the only Black high school in the city at the time. While teaching at Lanier, R. Jess Brown became an intervening plaintiff in a lawsuit that sought equal pay for Black teachers in Jackson.

After teaching in Jackson, Jess attended Texas Southern University law school. Jess left the law school before receiving his juris doctorate but was able to return to Mississippi and pass the Mississippi Bar in 1953.

Beginning his career in Vicksburg, Mississippi, R. Jess Brown confined his practice to cases involving divorces, deeds, land titles, and other practices that did not agitate White members of the bar. However, after the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling in 1954, Jess felt compelled to defend the civil rights of African Americans.

In the fall of 1955, the conditions and hardships endured by Black lawyers in the courts led Mr. Brown and seven other Black attorneys to establish the Magnolia Bar Association.

Mr. Speaker, R. Jess Brown is credited with filing the first civil suit on behalf of African Americans in the State of Mississippi. That lawsuit, on behalf of a Jefferson County minister, challenged laws that prevented Blacks from voting.

Mr. Speaker, Jess Brown has an extensive record as a civil rights lawyer. His list of clients included Clyde Kennard, who was charged with and convicted of a fictitious crime while attempting to desegregate the University of Southern Mississippi; James H. Meredith, whose litigation ultimately led to the integration of the University of Mississippi; Dr. Gilbert Mason, who led the effort to end racial segregation on the beaches of Biloxi, Mississippi; and civil rights icons Medgar Wiley Evers and Dr. Aaron Henry.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Brown was admitted to practice law before all Mississippi court systems, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Brown also served on the executive board of the National Bar Association for approximately 15 years.

On December 3, 1989, R. Jess Brown died of cancer in Jackson, Mississippi, at the age of 77.

Mr. Speaker, R. Jess Brown is well deserving of this honor, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 579.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by yielding such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson).

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

I too rise in support of H.R. 579, to designate the United States courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse.

R. Jess Brown was a towering figure in the history of the civil rights movement in the South and especially in the State of Mississippi. He was a native son of Kansas, born in Coffeyville, Kansas, and raised in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He attended law school at Texas Southern University and practiced law in Mississippi, starting in 1953 and continuing throughout the latter civil rights era.

As associate counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Mr. Brown filed the first civil rights suit in Mississippi in the 1950s. The suit, filed in Jefferson Davis County, sought the enforcement of the right of Black citizens to become registered voters.

In 1961, Brown represented James Meredith in his suit to be allowed to enter the University of Mississippi. His victory in this case opened the doors of that university to all of Mississippi's citizens. While working with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Brown played a major role in fighting discrimination in the areas of transportation and other public accommodations.

During his lifetime, he received numerous awards and honors, including the NAACP's Lawyer of the Year Award; the National Bar Association C. Francis Stradford Award, which is the Bar Association's highest award; and the Mississippi Teachers Association's award for extraordinary service to education in Mississippi.

R. Jess Brown will be remembered as more than a brilliant attorney and civil rights leader; he will also be remembered as a great American. As such, it is fitting that the United States courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi, be designated the R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse.

I support this legislation and urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 579.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 579) to designate the United States courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ``R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 579.

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

H.R. 579 designates the United States courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Mississippi, as the R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse.

Mr. Brown was a civil rights lawyer who worked against racial discrimination and was credited in the 1950s with filing the first civil rights lawsuit in the State of Mississippi.

A native of Oklahoma, Mr. Brown attended Illinois State University, Indiana University, and the Texas Southern University Law School. In the 1960s, he was one of only four African American lawyers in the State of Mississippi and one of three who took civil rights cases.

In 1962, he worked on behalf of James Meredith, whose successful lawsuit allowed him to be the first African American student to enroll at Ole Miss. Later, Mr. Brown worked to fight against discrimination in transportation and other public accommodations.

Given his dedication to the law and his work in civil rights, it is appropriate to name this courthouse after him.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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