On the 67th anniversary of Brown v Board of Education, Delaware elected officials celebrated the state’s role in the decision.
Recognizing Delaware’s role and vowing to make sure mistakes then are not repeated again was the message outside Hockessin School #107C, the one-room school people of color were only allowed to attend prior to the Brown decision.
That was until Sarah Bulah went to attorney Louis Redding, Jr to fight for her daughter Shirley to attend the whites-only school which had all of the amenities to promote a quality learning atmosphere.
Gov. John Carney (D) explains how an April 1952 Delaware Court of Chancery ruling got the ball rolling from the state’s perspective.
"Chancellor Collins J. Seitz issued the decision that the disparity between the white and African American schools was in violation of the United States Constitution," said Carney. "His ruling was the first instance in which a lower court ruled in favor of the plaintiff Bulah and Belton and was the first substantial legal victory for those opposed to segregation in Delaware and in the United States of America."
State Rep. Nnamdi Chuckwuocha (D- Wilmingtnon) vows the fight must continue so history doesn't repeat itself..
"We must honor those who came before us by working to ensure that their efforts were not in vain," said Chuckwuocha. "We must preserve the enduring spirit of all those the Bulah family, Mr. Redding, Judge Seitz, all of the known and unknown students who attended this colored school and other colored schools throughout our state. Not only the colored schools of yesterday but the new colored schools, the race, the identifiable high need, high poverty quote-unquote colored schools of today."
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) notes he’s fighting to make Hockessin School #107 part of the Brown v Board of Education historic sites to expand national recognition of its history so every student can learn about its significance.
