A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

                                              ********************                       REMARKS PREPARED FOR                         RICHARD W. RILEY                    U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION                    ***************************                       EDUCATION TOWN MEETING                         DECATUR, GEORGIA                           AUGUST 8, 1994   

In the last year and a half we, too, have worked hard on your behalf. We passed a great deal of education legislation that will, in time, improve all of our Nation's schools.

And, each step of the way -- whether it is a vote for more funding for Head Start -- an expanded immunization program for our children -- which is so important -- new funding and reform of the Chapter 1 program -- passage of our school improvement act -- the Goals 2000 Act -- the creation of our new School-to-Work program to help many more of our young people jump start their careers -- your Congresswoman has been with us every step of the way.

A few months ago, on the 40th anniversary of the famous 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, I had the opportunity to go with President Clinton to the Martin Luther King. Jr. Middle School in Beltsville, Maryland.

Janet Reno, the Attorney General, came along as did Ernie Green, one of the Little Rock Nine, and Thurgood "Goody" Marshall, Jr., the son of the late, great Justice Thurgood Marshall. It was a wonderful occasion to reflect on the importance of Brown, to remind ourselves of its promise.

The President, the Attorney General and I all reflected on the fact that when we were growing up, all three of us had gone to segregated schools -- and it had cost us. Even when I was growing up, I felt uncomfortable with the idea of segregation. It just didn't seem right to me.

Ernie Green spoke about his willingness to step forward, his willingness to make an individual choice to break down the barriers of segregation. Thurgood Marshall, Jr. reminded the students that his life and their lives had been profoundly changed by what his father and other courageous Americans, black and white, had done to end segregation.

Finally, the President got up and made a speech from the heart. He told the children that those of us in government would enforce the law -- and would keep the promise of Brown.

But the President went on to say that the students' individual choices -- whether or not to get caught up in the world of drugs and violence -- whether or not to believe that casual sex has consequences -- were also part of the promise of keeping faith with Brown. It was a heartfelt message, a strong message and the right one for 1994. It involved real opportunities and real responsibilities.

As a Southerner, I have to say that Brown was good for the South just as the civil rights movement was good for the country as a whole. We are a better country for it.

Now, we have a lot to do to fulfill the promise of Brown. There is unfinished business. There are still children in Summerton, South Carolina, -- in Topeka, Kansas -- and even up in Washington, D.C. who are not receiving the quality education they deserve. So, I want to make several observations about how we keep the promise of Brown in 1994.

First, that there are limits to what the law can do. The strength of the law is in how it is used to bring people together, rather than divide -- and the leadership at the local and national level that encourages people to believe that the law is fair and just and right.

If we want to make progress, the Courts cannot carry the load alone. It must be a total community effort. This is so important to all of us who recognize that education is the key to good jobs for everybody.

The South, as a region, has led the Nation in improving education because we recognize that if everybody gets a good education, we all prosper. When a community comes together to make sure all of its young people are learning, that they are all growing up safely and with good character -- then the entire community benefits.

Another lesson we have learned in the last 40 years is that while we were so focused on the physical desegregation of schools in the 1960's and 1970's, we did not do justice to the issue of excellence and high standards -- which was always the primary goal.

In 1954 it would have been "unfair" to talk about high standards. Now, in 1994 it would be "unfair" not to talk about high standards. Excellence and equality have to be seen as one. Excellence and equality are not incompatible, --we've just never tried hard enough to put them together for all of our children.

As we look down the road -- as we work to create a new model of excellence for American education that assures us that all children get the education they deserve -- I believe we need to focus on some common sense building blocks.

First, every child -- and I mean every child -- has a right to an education of high standards.