LANDMARK SUPREME COURT DECISION ON DESEGREGATION
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public education is a violation of the United States Constitution.
The decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, announced by Chief Justice Earl Warren, overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. While that case centered on segregation in rail transportation, the ruling was applied to public education facilities as well.
The 1896 ruling said that as long as facilities were "separate but equal" there was no violation of constitutional principles. As a matter of practice, however, facilities were separate but never equal.
The Brown case was initiated by the NAACP in behalf of Linda Brown*, a third grader in Topeka, Kansas, who was denied admission to Sumner Elementary School only four blocks from the Brown home. The little girl had to cross railroad tracks and walk four miles to the bus stop which serviced the nearest all-black elementary school.
Linda Brown later said...
"My father pondered, 'Why should my child walk four miles when there is a school only four blocks away?'"
The Browns were represented by a group of attorneys led by Thurgood Marshall. A year after the ruling in Brown v. Board, the Supreme Court issued guidelines for desegregation of public schools calling for compliance "with all deliberate speed".
*Linda Brown (1943-2018) was born in Topeka, KS.. daughter of Leola & Oliver Brown. Five years after the Supreme Court ruled in her favor in the Brown v. Board decision, she moved with her family to Springfield, MO. She returned to Topeka after her father's death and attended Washburn and Kansas State University. She worked as an educational consultant.
SOURCES
"Linda Brown, Civil Rights Activist," www.biography.com/
"Linda Brown, Symbol of Landmark Desegregation Case, Dies at 75", by Neil Genzlinger, March 26, 2018, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public education is a violation of the United States Constitution.
The decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, announced by Chief Justice Earl Warren, overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. While that case centered on segregation in rail transportation, the ruling was applied to public education facilities as well.
The 1896 ruling said that as long as facilities were "separate but equal" there was no violation of constitutional principles. As a matter of practice, however, facilities were separate but never equal.
The Brown case was initiated by the NAACP in behalf of Linda Brown*, a third grader in Topeka, Kansas, who was denied admission to Sumner Elementary School only four blocks from the Brown home. The little girl had to cross railroad tracks and walk four miles to the bus stop which serviced the nearest all-black elementary school.
Linda Brown later said...
"My father pondered, 'Why should my child walk four miles when there is a school only four blocks away?'"
The Browns were represented by a group of attorneys led by Thurgood Marshall. A year after the ruling in Brown v. Board, the Supreme Court issued guidelines for desegregation of public schools calling for compliance "with all deliberate speed".
*Linda Brown (1943-2018) was born in Topeka, KS.. daughter of Leola & Oliver Brown. Five years after the Supreme Court ruled in her favor in the Brown v. Board decision, she moved with her family to Springfield, MO. She returned to Topeka after her father's death and attended Washburn and Kansas State University. She worked as an educational consultant.
SOURCES
"Linda Brown, Civil Rights Activist," www.biography.com/
"Linda Brown, Symbol of Landmark Desegregation Case, Dies at 75", by Neil Genzlinger, March 26, 2018, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/
Linda Brown Smith (1964)
Photo by Al Ravenna
NYWT&S Staff Photo
Library of Congress Image
