Clyburn Chronicles May Podcast Features U.s. District Court for South Carolina Judge Richard Gergel

Statement

U.S. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn today released the latest edition of the Clyburn Chronicles podcast with his guest, United States District Court for the District of South Carolina Judge Richard M. Gergel.

A historian in his own right, Judge Gergel, in 2019, authored the book: "Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring."

"[The blinding of African American veteran Sgt. Isaac Woodard] changed history because not only did it impress this particular judge, J. Waties Waring, but it also impressed the President of the United States, Harry Truman," said Majority Whip Clyburn. "When he found out about that case, Harry Truman did some things that led to the integration of the armed services."

Judge Waring was deeply moved by the story of Sgt. Isaac Woodard. It launched a period of self-reflection and in 1951, Judge Waring wrote a scathing dissent in Briggs v. Elliott that tore at the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson and paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education.

"The Waring language and reasoning is the holding of Brown v. Board of Education," said Judge Gergel. "He is the father of Brown."

Judge Gergel stressed the need to share this rich history and South Carolina's involvement with future generations.

"It's such a pleasure to join you, Congressman, to share what is remarkably a South Carolina story," Judge Gergel continued. "Many people perceive that the story of Brown v. Board of Education was a Topeka, Kansas story. I don't want to take anything from the Brown family and the young lady who was the plaintiff. They were courageous people. They had their own crosses to bear in this struggle. But, the first case challenging public school segregation ever filed was in the United States District Court in Charleston."

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