From Mike Glover of the Associated Press:
TOPEKA, Kan. - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Monday the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision declaring school segregation unconstitutional comes amid too many instances of inequality in the nation and too many forces seeking to divide Americans.Kerry, joining a host of civil rights leaders at a ceremony marking the 1954 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education case, said schools remain underfunded and divided by income, the health care system has too many disparities by race, and one-third of black children live in poverty.
"Today, more than ever, we need to renew our commitment to one America," Kerry said on the steps of the Kansas Statehouse with hundreds of schoolchildren as a backdrop....
"We have certainly not met the promise of Brown when, in too many parts of our country, our school systems are not separate but equal, but separate and unequal," Kerry said.
Bush spokesman Steve Schmidt noted that the president was marking the day as well and faulted Kerry for "introducing partisan invective into this historic anniversary."