Excerpted with the permission of the Johnson County Sun June 15, 2001

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, D-3rd District, has co-sponsored a bill that would create a commission to help with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Topeka Board of Education decision.

U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun of Topeka introduced the bill Tuesday. It would provide $250,000 in fiscal years 2003 and 2004 for activities related to the anniversary of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The decision, supplanting the previous Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal doctrine," made public-school segregation illegal throughout the United States.

"Creating a commission to commemorate the anniversary of the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education decision will ensure an important event in Kansas and U.S. history gets the recognition it deserves," Moore said. "The Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission will use the Brown decision as an educational vehicle to teach children and communities, alike, to respect and honor those who fought for what is right."

The commission's duties would be to:

* Plan and coordinate public education activities and initiatives in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education.

* Work with the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research in Topeka and other agencies to encourage, plan, develop and coordinate observances of the anniversary.

* Submit recommendations to Congress relating to a joint congressional session for the purpose of commemorating the anniversary.

Membership on the proposed 20-member anniversary commission would include representatives from the Department of Education, each of the four states involved in the class-action lawsuit that prompted the Brown decision, the judicial branch, the Brown Foundation, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Brown V. Board of Education National Historic Site.