Yesterday, Senators Kennedy and Kerry introduced a Senate Resolution, to honor 'The Little Rock Nine' for their courage and integrity fifty years ago.

Senator Kerry:

“I am proud to help welcome the Little Rock Nine to Boston, and I’m glad that with this resolution the United States Senate which once defended segregation now honors those courageous young people who helped break the back of Jim Crow and ‘separate but equal’ in America. I remember first watching the news of the Little Rock Nine on a black and white television set when I was thirteen years old. It was like a punch in the gut to see that kids just a couple years older than me had to risk their lives just to go to school, all because of the color of their skin. Fifty years later, they’re older and grayer, but they still remind us of the journey we have taken and the march we must still finish to truly overcome. I am proud to do my small part to honor these men and women today and I hope that citizens of every generation will take some time today to learn the courageous story of these living heroes.”

Last night, on the 50th anniversary of taking a stand, these women and men were honored at historic Faneuil Hall - a fitting place. Here, where more than 170 years before, Abolitionists publicly denounced slavery, and where public school segregation was outlawed only 30 years after that, the Little Rock Nine were most welcome.

We hope to update our post with more on the Faneuil Hall event, but meanwhile we would like to thank Thelma Mothershed, Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, Melba Pattillo, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, Daisy Bates (NAACP President), and Ernest Green for their great courage so many years ago. They helped pave the way to a better society.