Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2611) to modify the boundary of the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise

and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), the sponsor of this excellent piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), also a member of our committee and who has helped shepherd this bill through our committee and here on the floor.

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

Mr. Speaker, this bill, to me, is an extremely important bill. Sixty years ago, during this month, nine extraordinary students attended Little Rock, Arkansas' Central High School. They were kids picked for their academic ability and their maturity level because they were going to go through a year that no one had seen before and, hopefully, will ever see again.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps because I taught high school for almost 30 years, I understand the environment that took place here, and I have a great deal of empathy for these nine kids who went there. They could have easily been my students.

This becomes a significant concept that on September 4, 60 years ago, the Governor of Arkansas ordered the National Guard to bar these nine kids from entrance into Central High School in Little Rock; then, after some pressure, he withdrew the protection so the kids were subject to the mobs and the violence that took place there at that time.

On September 25, 60 years ago, Dwight Eisenhower had the courage and leadership--one of the reasons I respect him so much as a President--to order the Army 101st Airborne Division to go down to Little Rock to Central High School and to escort these nine kids through that first year and lead them to a school year like no other has ever been.

This situation was, in my estimation, a pivotal moment in our Nation's civil rights history as well as our education history. We have often talked about how buildings and monuments are used to interpret history. That is exactly what Mr. Hill is attempting to do here with a significant site in America's history, to make sure that it is preserved--and not just the high school itself, but the seven residences that are across the street on South Park Street. Those residences there are part of the historical landmark which was made and designated in the Reagan administration. They are part of the designation on the National Register of Historic Places.

Finally, in 1998, the high school and some surrounding areas were established as a National Historic Site. Those buildings still have significant historical integrity. They add to the definition and the story of history which must--which must--be remembered at all times.

This bill expands the boundaries of this National Historic Site to include those residences so the National Park Service can, in cooperative agreements with the residents who still live there, make sure that that area will always be preserved as a place to interpret, improve, and provide the technical assistance to make sure this story of American history is not forgotten. It is part of the milieu.

As the gentlewoman from Hawaii said, when you see pictures of these kids giving press conferences, you see these homes in the background. It is part and parcel to this story. The residents who live across the street are connected to the landmark events in September of 1957 and provide the backdrop for this particular element.

I am appreciative of Mr. Hill of Arkansas for leading forth with this particular bill, realizing the significance, and I am happy that today, on the very month this was happening 60 years ago, we actually are talking about this particular event and desiring to secure these areas so that the history of this country will be remembered to its fullest extent.

One of our staffers in the committee who helped in the drafting of this bill had the opportunity of having lunch with one of those Little Rock Nine. His essay won, and his reward was to have a chance to actually meet one of these heroic young women who went to Little Rock's Central High School 60-plus years ago.

This is significant, and I cannot think of this story without in some way feeling choked up inside because I know what it must have been like for those kids to go there, and I know what it must have been like to be part of that milieu. This was historic. They were true heroes. They were truly brave kids who took this event on and did it with such aplomb. They need to be remembered.

That is why I am happy that this bill is coming forward, so that we can expand the horizon and we can expand the area of this historic site so that we can make sure that this will be a protected area, so that the history will not be forgotten and so what these kids did in that very historic year of 1957 and 1958 in Little Rock will not be forgotten, and so the significance and the conviction those kids had and the experience they had to go through can be remembered and that we can never again go back there. We could never again replicate that area, and we will move forward in the area of civil rights as well as education.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here to support this bill. I am going to ask my colleagues to support this bill because it says so much about us, about our commitments, about our priorities, and about what we want to do, and it says so much about what is good in this country. This is the primary example of what we are attempting to do.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, we appreciate all those who have spoken on behalf of this particular bill, those who have worked on this bill, and those who have sponsored this bill. This bill is something I think is really significant. It says something that is very positive about this country and helps us to remember that which is positive about this country.

Mr. Speaker, I am urging all my colleagues to support this, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. I am proud to join the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) in sponsoring this legislation to update the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

In 1954, the Supreme Court issued a historic decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, which desegregated our Nation's public schools. Unfortunately, the law of the land did not become the practice of its people overnight. It took the will of brave men and women and some very brave children, like the Little Rock Nine.

Parents swallowed the fear for their children. Strong, innocent little children put their bodies on the line to force the change that justice demands. The actions changed the heart and the soul of our Nation, and we must admit today that our country is a better country and we are a better people because of these children, the mothers and fathers, the teachers, and many of our citizens.

When Little Rock, Arkansas, leaders attempted to desegregate Central High School, the Governor fought back. He choose to stand on the side of hate and bigotry. It took a determined mayor, a strong President, the U.S. Army, and the Arkansas National Guard to protect these nine teenagers as they entered the school.

In 1957, Mr. Speaker, I was 17 years old, and I vividly remember those days. These young people inspired all of us to stand up, to speak up, and to speak out. And many of us started saying: If the children in Little Rock can do what they are doing, we, too, can do it.

For those of us watching on television, listening to the radio, and reading the newspapers, we were deeply inspired. We were moved to do something, to say something. I said to myself: We need to stand up the same way the people and students in Little Rock are standing up. I remember thinking that I could--that I must--find a way to get in the way.

Mr. Speaker, Central High is part of our history that must be preserved for a generation yet unborn.

I remember very well, a few years ago, I visited that school and walked through the halls with a young African-American student who was president of the student body, who the principal asked to escort me through the school. I felt like I was walking in a special place, almost a holy place. It brought tears to my eyes.

During those dark and difficult times, the national historic site became a beacon of hope, an inspiration that we can never give up, that we can never give in as we strive towards equal rights and justice for all.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas for introducing this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to stand with the gentleman from Arkansas and the gentlewoman from Hawaii and support this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor at this time to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), a civil rights pioneer and legend.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2611, introduced by Representative Hill and cosponsored by civil rights pioneer and legend, Representative Lewis of Georgia, amends Public Law 105-356, which established Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

H.R. 2611 would modify the park's boundary and expand the park's authority to enter into cooperative agreements. The proposed boundary modification would include seven privately owned residences on South Park Street, consisting of 1.47 acres. The cooperative agreement authority provided by the bill will allow the National Park Service to give financial and technical aid to the property owners to preserve the facades and maintain the ambience of a 1957 historic scene.

Images of the South Park Street properties are inextricably associated with the 1957 events. As images of the Little Rock Nine, crowds of protesters, the public, and the National Guardsmen appeared in newspapers across the Nation and were broadcast live through the emerging media of television, the neighborhood became as recognizable as the high school itself.

Because South Park Street in front of Central High School retains a high degree of historical integrity, this legislation would provide a unique opportunity to preserve a setting that will allow visitors to more accurately visualize the events that occurred there in 1957 when the Little Rock Nine attempted to attend Central High School.

In 1996, the surrounding neighborhood, including these seven privately owned homes, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Central High School Neighborhood Historic District. The designation recognized the neighborhood's association with the significant events of 1957 as well as the architectural characteristics and qualities that remain relatively unchanged from that period.

All the property owners and several community members have expressed their support for this proposal, including Central High Neighborhood, Inc., and Preserve Arkansas.

As we move forward in these turbulent times, it is important that we do not forget the struggles of the Little Rock Nine and the neighborhood that moved America forward towards an integrated education system.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, 60 years ago today, all eyes were on South Park Street that fronts the beautiful facade of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Just days before, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had called out the National Guard to prevent nine Black students from entering the school on September 4. Central High and its beautiful neighborhood had become ground zero in the march to end the five-decade legacy of Plessy v. Ferguson, ``separate but equal,'' to bring it to reality.

Now, just over 3 years after the Brown decision, it was time for action. In a few days, on the 25th of this month, we will celebrate the successful integration of Central High School, when the Little Rock Nine entered the school escorted by the troops of the 101st Airborne.

It is fitting today, Mr. Speaker, that we pay tribute to the Little Rock Nine, their defenders, and the successful end to separate but equal. We recognize this important milestone today on this House floor by passing a bill on the suspension calendar that expands the park boundary of the national historic site at Little Rock Central High School. This is a historic and important touchstone for all of those modern-day history travelers retracing the steps of the civil rights movement.

The Little Rock National Historic Site Visitor Center was opened in 2007 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the integration of Central High. Today's measure, H.R. 2611, is a simple one: extending the park boundaries to take in the houses that fronted the school along beautiful South Park Street so that future generations will be able to picture this tranquil street, an architecturally significant facade of Central High, and reflect back on those 21 days of trauma in September 1957.

I thank my colleague who is in our Chamber today, civil rights pioneer and courageous actor John Lewis, for his cosponsorship.

I thank our majority leader, Chairman Bishop, and the Natural Resources Committee for their expeditious treatment of this important measure, and I salute Senator Cotton for his leadership in advancing this important legislation in the United States Senate.

I look forward to President Trump signing this bill and again recognizing that we have to embrace our past and learn from our history.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my colleague from Arkansas Congressman French Hill's bill, H.R. 2611, that will modify the boundary of the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site to include seven residences on South Park Street in Little Rock, Arkansas.

While this bill would authorize the National Park Service to enter into cooperative agreements with private property owners of the South Street properties, H.R. 2611 will do more. It will also help us to remember. It will help us to remember that on September 25, 1957, nine young people, with Federal troops for escorts, bravely walked past crowds of hatred, bigotry, emotional degradation, and even physical abuse to desegregate Little Rock Central High School.

On that historic day in 1957, nine young people showed the United States and the world that we were and are better than segregation and better than racism and injustice. They proved to the world that, as Americans, we really do believe the Declaration of Independence when it says that all men are created equal.

I believe that allowing the historical residences surrounding Little Rock Central High School to slip into disrepair or oblivion would be a severe injustice to those who gave of themselves to further the cause of civil rights and equality.

I would like to thank my colleague from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) and the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) for their work on this important issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.