50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

Excerpt from Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's Remarks at Wake Forest University 2004 Commencement Ceremony

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

What a pleasure it is to be with all of you on a "Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina" morning on the beautiful quad.

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Today is another day of celebration, as well, besides your graduation, and that is the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision known forever as Brown v. the Board of Education of 1954. You youngsters are too young to realize this, but back then, I wouldn't be here; and I wouldn't even be sitting there. Well, look how much has changed. Look what this law has done for us. Look how this law has changed America for the better, how the law showed, again, to the world how the American people can look in a mirror and see their own reflection, and when they don't like that reflection, because of our democratic system, because of the nature of our founding documents, because of our Constitution and our courts, we can change things for the better.

So while we celebrate this landmark piece of legislation, and we take comfort in what we've accomplished over the last 50 years, let's not take too much comfort because we all know the struggle is not over; the struggle will never be over until every youngster in America has the opportunity for a quality education wherever they may live, whatever their circumstances. We must remain committed, as the President has said, to leaving no child behind.