Delaware delegation celebrates posthumous award of Presidential Citizens Medal to two Delaware civil rights advocates

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) today applauded President Joe Biden for posthumously presenting the Presidential Citizens Medal to two civil rights advocates from the First State. 

Judge Collins J. Seitz Sr., and Delaware’s first Black attorney, Louis L. Redding, played substantial roles in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of their race was unconstitutional.

“The courage and tenacity shown by Judge Collins J. Seitz Sr., attorney Louis L. Redding, the Bulah Family, and the many people involved in ending racial segregation in public schools was remarkable,” said Senator Carper. “I am proud that Judge Seitz and Louis Redding have been posthumously honored by President Biden for their important role in history.”

“Collins Seitz and Louis Redding were visionaries whose advocacy ensured that Delaware played a leading role in removing the stain of racial segregation from U.S. public education,” said Senator Coons. “These men are heroes and deserving of one of our nation’s highest civilian honors. While I wish Seitz and Redding had been alive to receive these awards themselves, I’m grateful President Biden recognized their contributions to ending segregation that will inspire generations to come.” 

“It is more important now than ever that we tell the full story of our shared history, including the heroic courage of those who helped, as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice,” said Congresswoman Blunt Rochester. “It is fitting that both Judge Collins J. Seitz Sr. and Louis Redding, who each played significant roles in ending racial segregation in public education in Delaware and across the country, are being awarded one of the nation’s highest civilian honors. I am grateful to President Biden for recognizing their achievements in this historic way and for helping to cement their legacies as staunch advocates for racial and educational justice.”

Redding became the first Black attorney admitted to the Delaware bar in 1929, championing civil rights and education equality reforms throughout his career. He played a crucial role arguing against segregation in the landmark cases of Bulah v. Gebhart and Belton v. Gebhart. Judge Seitz’s ruling in the Gebhart cases was combined with cases from other states in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court that became known as Brown v. Board of Education. Of the five cases that ultimately became part of Brown, Gebhart is unique as it was the only state decision that actually required that Black children be admitted to previously segregated schools. This ruling made Seitz the first judge in America to integrate a previously white-only public school.

The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award granted by the president to Americans “who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” It is recognized as the second-highest civilian award bestowed by our government.

The Delaware congressional delegation for the 118th Congress, consisting of Senators Carper and Coons and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester, sent a letter last month urging President Biden to posthumously recognize Seitz and Redding, writing, “As you are aware, this year marked the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling. … There is no better moment in time to also honor the life and legacy of two Delawareans whose courageous actions led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Plessy v. Ferguson doctrine in its 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.”

In 2022, President Biden signed into law the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park Expansion and Redesignation Act, sponsored by Senator Coons and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). The act established National Park Service Affiliated Areas in Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia and expanded the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas. The legislation was crafted in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.