By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
On May 17 President Joe Biden commemorated the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which prohibited the operation of racially segregated schools and regarded them unconstitutional and unequal.
In a White House statement obtained by the AFRO, Biden said, “That landmark decision helped us move closer to realizing the idea that defines who we are as a Nation.”
“We are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives,” said Biden. “While our society has never fully lived up to that idea, we have never fully walked away from it either — and on this milestone anniversary, we promise we will not walk away from it now.
To acknowledge the importance of Brown v. Board of Education, Biden met with the plaintiffs of the historical case and their families at the White House including Adrienne Jennings Bennett, a plaintiff in Boiling v. Sharpe which was argued alongside Brown v. Board of Education and Cheryl Brown Henderson, the daughter of Oliver Brown, the lead plaintiff in the case.
Steve Benjamin, senior advisor to the president and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement attended the meeting and told reporters Biden “commended” the plaintiffs and families “for changing our nation for the better.”
Benjamin added that the president stated that he is going “To continue his fight to move us closer to the promise of America.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing on Thursday that Biden was “proud” to meet with the plaintiffs and families of Brown v. Board of Education and to “honor the legacy of those who paved the way for progress and hard-fought rights for Black Americans.”
Pierre added that during the meeting the president “ his vision for how we must continue to build on these freedoms.”
Included in that vision are several new initiatives Biden announced this week to advance racial, educational equity and ensure that each student has access to a “world-class education.”
On Friday, he unveiled a plan that will make sure that Black history is preserved, underserved educational institutions are well resourced and educational institutions across the nation are equipped with a diverse staff.
Biden said that he “believes every student deserves access to a high-quality education that prepares them to be the next generation of leaders.”