Dear Friends,
Almost 60 years ago, all eyes were on South Park Street that fronts the beautiful façade of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Just days before, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering the school on September 4th. Thanks to President Dwight Eisenhower, the Little Rock Nine entered the school escorted by the 101st Airborne.
Just ahead of the historic 60th anniversary on the 25th of this month, we’re commemorating the Little Rock Nine and their brave role in the fight for equality. As we celebrate, my bill that ensures the proper historical inclusion of the seven homes located across South Park Street from Little Rock Central High School passed unanimously on Tuesday night, September 12, 2017.
As someone who cares deeply for history, I am passionate about this initiative. Once signed into law, the National Park Service will offer to visitors the opportunity to put themselves in the living historical marker and reflect upon the 21 days in September 1957 that gripped a nation and paved the way for the end of "separate but equal."
Extending the park boundaries to take in the houses that fronted the school along beautiful South Park Street will help future generations to picture this tranquil street and architecturally-significant façade.
Together with the school, these homes will now stand as living monuments to the civil rights movement in Arkansas and the United States. Preserving the streetscape as close to what it was in 1957 serves as a historic reminder for all modern-day history travelers retracing the steps of the civil rights movement.
The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act, H.R. 2611, designates the historic property consisting of approximately 1.47 acres to be be preserved by the National Park Service (NPS). Additionally, the bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into separate cooperative agreements with the owners of such residences to mark, interpret, improve, restore, and provide technical assistance for the preservation and interpretation of their properties.
By the House passing this legislation, we recognize this as an important milestone. I’m also grateful to my friend and colleague, Senator Tom Cotton, for his leadership in initiating and shepherding this effort with his companion bill S.1202 in the Senate, which we hope will be voted on and sent to the president's desk.
I thank my colleague, civil rights pioneer, and courageous leader, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), for his cosponsorship. I also thank our Majority Leader, Chairman Bishop, and the Natural Resources Committee for their expeditious treatment of this important measure. I look forward to President Trump signing this bill, and again recognizing that we have to embrace our past and learn from our history.
On the walls of the National Archives is written "what is past is prologue," and to embrace our past will strengthen our future. I am proud of our efforts, and I look forward to this bill becoming law because Arkansas's history is America's history
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill |
