Congressional Black Caucus holds House tribute for late Supreme Court Justice Brennan

Jet, August 18, 1997

The 38-person Congressional Black Caucus paid an unprecedented sixty minute tribute on the House floor in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan.

Leaving behind a legacy of 1,300 court decisions which William he had written, the Justice was regarded as "a true liberal" who counted among his friends men and women of every race and color. Throughout a tempestuous racial period, he stood out as a formidable opponent of discrimination and segregation.

Nominated by President Dwight Eisenhower, he served on the court from 1956 to 1990. He recently died at the age of 91 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery close to his longtime friend, former Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Though Brennan was appointed to the Supreme Court after its historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision, which ordered the desegregation of public schools, the decision did not overshadow Brennan's contributions in extending the rights of minorities.

One of his decisions defended the right of the NAACP to criticize Southern segregationists. That decision established a public forum for civil rights litigation and opened a new channel for Blacks to keep the Civil Rights Movement in the public eye legally and non-violently. As a result of Brennan's decision, today the Black Caucus holds robust and wide open debate in the American body politic, said New Jersey Rep. Donald M. Payne who attended the same Newark high school attended by the late Justice. Added Payne, "In those years, he was my beacon of hope."

"He was one of the most influential and visionary justices in our nation's history," said California Rep. Maxine Waters, the caucus chairwoman.

Among his other landmark court decisions was the Baker vs. Carr case in 1962 that opened the flood gates for several "one-person, one-vote" rulings and set the stage for the voting rights legislation that enabled Blacks to fully participate in the democratic process.

Praising him for his backing the ideal of "one person, one vote," Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings called Justice Brennan "a giant who shared our belief in a colorblind society."

"Despite his Ivy League education," said Rep. Eva Clayton of North Carolina, "he never lost touch with the average person."

Attending his funeral were presidential advisor Vernon Jordan and former Cabinet secretary William Coleman, both longtime friends.