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Team,

Seventy-one years ago this month, in May, 1954, nine justices came together and unanimously declared that separate was inherently unequal.

The Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education was more than a legal ruling — it brought the law in line with the fundamental truth of the equality of our humanity.

Yet, we must acknowledge that the promise of Brown, as well as the civil rights movement as a whole, has been — and continues to be — a journey, not a destination.

The integration of our schools was halting, confrontational, and at times even bloody. The outlawing of institutional segregation did not by itself alleviate the vicious bias that had been directed against African American people and communities for generations. And the rejection of legal discrimination by our highest court could not by itself wash away the hostility that would, for years, fuel perversely innovative attempts to keep "separate but equal" in place.

These markers of progress could not forestall the "Massive Resistance" policies that followed across the country. Public schools were closed, and private academies were opened for white children only. The Little Rock Nine required the protection of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army to enroll in an all-white high school.

And they could not prevent Alabama Governor George Wallace from making his infamous “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” nine years after Brown, when two courageous African American students attempted to register for classes at the University of Alabama — one of whom, Vivian Malone, would much later become my sister-in-law.

But thanks to Brown — and to the developments that followed — when Vivian and her classmate James Hood walked into that university, they were protected not only by the power of their convictions, but by the strength of the National Guard, the authority of the United States Department of Justice, and the force of binding law.

When those nine students entered Little Rock Central High School, they were supported by all nine members of a resolute Supreme Court. And when millions of civil rights advocates and supporters began to rally, to march, to stand up — and even to sit in — to eradicate the discrimination they continued to face in schools and other public accommodations, they stood not only on the side of equality and what was right, but on the side of settled justice.

This was the sea change that Brown signaled. It did not instantaneously or painlessly tear down the walls that divided our nation. But it did unlock the gates.

The story of Brown is not just a historical narrative, but a continuing call to action. It reminds us that progress is possible, that justice can prevail, and that each generation has a responsibility to push our nation closer to its highest ideals.

We should also remember that Brown’s impact extended beyond schools. By saying that segregation was unacceptable, it laid the foundation for future accomplishments in the civil rights movement — accomplishments that we must still protect.

You can draw a direct line between Brown and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which finally created a robust safeguard against discrimination and disenfranchisement in our elections, and which established strong tools to deliver on the promise of fair representation with fair district lines.

But anti-democracy forces are now seeking to weaken the Voting Rights Act — in a continued, concerted effort to achieve unearned, illegitimate power at the expense of people of color.

So as we mark this 71st anniversary of Brown, let us recommit ourselves to upholding the values it represents and dismantling the barriers that still divide us — by fighting for equal rights, equal representation through fair maps, and the fundamental promise that every voice matters in our democracy.

Sincerely,

Eric H. Holder, Jr.
82nd Attorney General of the United States











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