The daughter of the man whose name is apart of the historic U.S. Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education is sharing the importance of understanding history with students at Jackson State University.
Cheryl Brown Henderson is the daughter of Oliver Brown, the lead plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Board of Education. The case led to the desegregation of public schools. Henderson is the guest speaker for the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Convocation. She tells students they must understand America's history. She says the U.S. Constitution wasn't written to protect the rights of black people.
" 'We the people' was never intended to mean we the people of color, we the women, we the disabled, we the aging, we the LGBTQ community, never. Because the folks that came up with that phrase intended that to mean, we the land rich white men," said Henderson.
Henderson says armed with that knowledge students could effectively combat discrimination and injustice.
"I challenge you to let our self-determination be on full display. I want to see you marching. I want to see you writing op-eds to the newspapers about what you think and what's going on, using social media for good, forming coalitions, being politically active at every level," said Henderson.
Chelsey Jones, is a Sophmore at Jackson State and liked Henderson's speech.
"Her speech was just amazing. She touched on all the things we were thinking like the election," said Jones.
Cheryl Brown Henderson says that's the goal, to energize young people to fight for the civil rights of all Americans.
