BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION

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In 1951, thirteen parents filed suit against the Topeka, Kansas, Board of Education, protesting the policy of racial segregation. The Kansas District Court ruled against the plaintiffs.

The parents appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1954, the Supreme Court gave its verdict, banning racial segregation in schools.

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“WE CONCLUDE THAT, IN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, THE DOCTRINE OF ‘SEPARATE BUT EQUAL’ HAS NO PLACE. SEPARATE EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES ARE INHERENTLY UNEQUAL.”

—U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren, Brown vs. Board of Education verdict

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Even so, it would be more than fifteen years of struggle and protest before the last American school desegregated.