Civil Rights Leaders to Join Kansas Governor to Commemorate 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

At the invitation of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), several other civil rights leaders, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, have agreed to participate in a special proclamation ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision in Topeka on May 17. The ceremony will take place on the south steps of the Capitol beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Among those joining Henderson will be Karen K. Narasaki, president and executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium; Elaine Jones, former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Janet Murguia, executive director of the National Council of La Raza; and Patrisha Wright, director of government affairs for the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

“LCCR, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, is honored to be invited by Governor Sebelius to participate in this important event,” said Henderson.

“While we will commemorate the Brown decision,” said Henderson, “we will also emphasize that the dream of providing an equal educational opportunity for all children is still unfulfilled fifty years later.”

Henderson will announce a major new initiative by the civil rights community to address this problem.