Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/2665

 117 STAT. 2646

PUBLIC LAW 108–180—DEC. 15, 2003 (7) The shooting incident drove him from South Carolina to Buffalo, New York, where he organized an African Methodist Episcopal Church. (8) Believing that he would not be treated fairly by the South Carolina judicial system if he returned to South Carolina, Reverend DeLaine told the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ‘‘I am not running from justice but injustice’’, and it was not until 2000 (26 years after his death and 45 years after the incident) that Reverend DeLaine was cleared of all charges relating to the October 1955 incident. (9) Reverend DeLaine was a humble and fearless man who showed the Nation that all people, regardless of the color of their skin, deserve a first-rate education, a lesson from which the Nation has benefited immeasurably. (10) Reverend DeLaine deserves rightful recognition for the suffering that he and his family endured to teach the Nation one of the great civil rights lessons of the last century. (11) Like the Reverend DeLaine and Harry and Eliza Briggs, Levi Pearson was an integral participant in the struggle to equalize the educational experiences of white and black students in South Carolina. (12) Levi Pearson, with the assistance of Reverend Joseph DeLaine, filed a lawsuit against the Clarendon County School District to protest the inequitable treatment of black children. (13) As a result of his lawsuit, Levi Pearson also suffered from acts of domestic terror, such as the time gun shots were fired into his home, as well as economic consequences: local banks refused to provide him with credit to purchase farming materials and area farmers refused to lend him equipment. (14) Although his case was ultimately dismissed on a technicality, Levi Pearson’s courage to stand up for equalized treatment and funding for black students served as the catalyst for further attempts to desegregate South Carolina schools, as he continued to fight against segregation practices and became President of Clarendon County Chapter of the NAACP. (15) When Levi Pearson’s litigation efforts to obtain equalized treatment and funding for black students were stymied, Harry and Eliza Briggs, a service station attendant and a maid, continued to fight for not only equalized treatment of all children but desegregated schools as well. (16) As with Reverend DeLaine and Levi Pearson, the family of Harry and Eliza Briggs suffered consequences for their efforts: Harry and Eliza both were fired from their jobs and forced to move their family to Florida. (17) Although they and their family suffered tremendously, Harry and Eliza Briggs were also pioneers leading the effort to desegregate America’s public schools.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—In recognition of the contributions of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs, and Levi Pearson to the Nation as pioneers in the effort to desegregate public schools that led directly to the landmark desegregation case of Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka et al., the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal

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