# Plain Language Summary: Scarboro 85 Resolution

This resolution is Congress officially recognizing and honoring a group of 85 Black students known as the "Scarboro 85" who played an important role in desegregating public schools. These students were part of the real-world effort to make the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision actually happen in schools across the country. That landmark court decision ruled that "separate but equal" schools were unconstitutional, but it took brave students and families to actually integrate schools when many communities resisted the change.

The Scarboro 85 were students who attended or attempted to attend schools that had been segregated by race, helping to break down the barriers that had kept Black and white students in separate educational systems. By passing this resolution, Congress is acknowledging their courage and the significance of their actions in American civil rights history. This is a symbolic gesture—it doesn't create new laws or change any policies—but it officially recognizes these students' contribution to making equal education a reality rather than just a court ruling on paper.

This type of resolution matters because it ensures that important historical figures and moments aren't forgotten. It tells the story of ordinary young people who stood up against discrimination and helped transform American schools. For students and families today, it's a reminder of how recent school desegregation actually is and how much effort it took to achieve what many now take for granted.

A resolution recognizing the role of the Scarboro 85 in the desegregation of public schools following the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education.

Blackburn, Marsha

<p>This resolution recognizes and celebrates (1) the Scarboro 85 as the first group of African American students to integrate public schools in the Southeast region following the Supreme Court's decision in <em>Brown v. Board of Education</em>, and (2) the role of the Scarboro 85 in leading the desegregation movement in the Southeast region.</p>