House Resolution 118 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 118 BY NUNN A Resolution designating the week of September 1 24 through 29, 2018, as the sesquicentennial 2 celebration of the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in 3 Clark v. Board of Directors . 4 WHEREAS, the 1868 Iowa Supreme Court decision in 5 Clark v. Board of Directors (of Muscatine Schools) , 6 holding racial segregation of the public schools 7 unconstitutional, is one of the most important court 8 decisions in the history of American jurisprudence, and 9 was hailed by Chief Justice Mark Cady in his 2018 State 10 of the Judiciary Address as “a defining moment for Iowa 11 and the nation”; and 12 WHEREAS, the Iowa Supreme Court, relying upon the 13 constitutional “principle of equal rights to all, upon 14 which our government is founded,” was the first and one 15 of only four state courts in the nineteenth century to 16 strike down school segregation under state law; and 17 WHEREAS, the Iowa Supreme Court rejected 18 government-imposed segregation in public education 86 19 years before the United States Supreme Court did in 20 Brown v. Board of Education in 1954; and 21 WHEREAS, the Clark v. Board of Directors decision 22 continues to have great vitality and relevance today, 23 not only in its rejection of segregation and racism, 24 but also as the precedent that demonstrated that 25 the Iowa Constitution provides great protection for 26 individual rights independent of the United States 27 Constitution; and 28 -1- LSB 6256YH (4) 87 asf/jh 1/ 2
H.R. 118 WHEREAS, both law schools in the state have close 1 ties to the Clark v. Board of Directors decision, 2 as Justice Chester Cole, the author of the Court’s 3 opinion, was the co-founder and long-time dean and 4 faculty member of the Drake Law School, and Alexander 5 Clark, Jr. and Alexander Clark, Sr., the brother 6 and father of plaintiff Susan Clark, were the first 7 African-American graduates of the University of Iowa 8 College of Law; and 9 WHEREAS, in collaboration with the Iowa Supreme 10 Court, Drake University and its law school, and 11 the University of Iowa College of Law, will host 12 a series of celebratory programs and events the 13 week of September 24 through 29 to commemorate the 14 historic Clark v. Board of Directors decision and the 15 extraordinary civil rights leadership of Justice Cole 16 and Alexander Clark, Sr.; NOW THEREFORE, 17 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 18 the House of Representatives designates the week of 19 September 24 through 29, 2018, as the sesquicentennial 20 celebration of the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in 21 Clark v. Board of Directors . 22 -2- LSB 6256YH (4) 87 asf/jh 2/ 2