On this day sixty years ago, May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education, declaring that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” In declaring racial segregation in our schools to be a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, an incredible victory for equal rights was achieved
Fifty years after the Brown decision – on this day ten years ago – another incredible victory for equal rights was achieved right here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Following the legal battles that paved the way for marriage equality in the Bay State, on May 17, 2004, the first legal marriage licenses for same-sex couples were issued, and the first legal marriages of same-sex couples were recognized by the state.
For those who may not know me, I grew up in South Africa in the 1970s. At that time, South Africa was under the grip of the racist apartheid regime. One of the events that had a big impact on me was the Soweto Uprising in 1976 when I was eight years old. Black students were protesting against the imposition of the Afrikaans language in their schools. Afrikaans was the language spoken by the white minority apartheid government. I was too young to fully understand what was happening, but I did understand enough to know that children like me were being shot and killed by the police.
My family was fortunate enough to be able to immigrate to this great country when I was twelve years old. The memory of apartheid has since fueled my personal commitment to fight for equal rights and social and economic justice. When any of us see firsthand the realities of true injustice and inequality, it should motivate us to act. That is what drives our progressive movement, here in Massachusetts and across our country.
As we commemorate the historic legal decision that affirmed equal rights sixty years ago, and as we celebrate the recognitions of love and commitment that were finally legally permitted ten years ago, we should also recognize how much work there still is to do to achieve true equality of opportunity and equal justice under the law.
Finally, if I can leave you with one sentiment, it’s that I can absolutely attest to the central idea in the Warren Court’s decision from sixty years ago today: separate is not equal.
Jason Lewis is the state senator for the 5th Middlesex district, which includes Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, and precincts 1, 2, 3, and 8 of Winchester. Like State Senator Lewis on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
