H.Res. 1434

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1434 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1434

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 10, 2024

Mr. Fleischmann (for himself, Mrs. Harshbarger, Mr. Burchett, Mr. 
DesJarlais, Mr. Ogles, Mr. Rose, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mr. Kustoff, 
and Mr. Cohen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

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) Earnestine 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) Earnestine 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 House of Representatives 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.
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