Brown v. Board

Linda Brown Smith stands in front of the Sumner School in Topeka, Kan., on May 8, 1964. The refusal of the public school to admit Brown in 1951, then nine years old, because she is black, led to the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the "separate but equal" clause and mandated that schools nationwide must be desegregated.
Linda Brown Smith stands in front of the Sumner School in Topeka, Kan., in 1964, a segregated white school where she had been denied enrollment in 1951, leading to the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the "separate but equal" doctrine in the case that bears her family name, <i>Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.</i> The high court on Jan. 8 turned away an effort by descendants of the litigants in a companion desegregation case from South Carolina to rename the historic decision for their case, <i>Briggs</i> v. <i>Elliott</i>.
AP
Law & Courts U.S. Supreme Court Declines Bid to Rename 'Brown v. Board of Education'
Descendants argued that their case, not the one from Topeka, Kan., should have topped the 1954 decision on racial segregation in schools.
Mark Walsh, January 8, 2024
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3 min read
Harry Briggs stands in front of the Scott's Branch School in Summerton, S.C., May 8, 1979. In 1950, Briggs filed a school desegregation lawsuit, seeking equal schools and pay for teachers. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that separate but equal schools were unconstitutional.
Harry Briggs stands in front of the Scott's Branch School in Summerton, S.C., May 8, 1979. In 1950, Briggs filed a school desegregation lawsuit, seeking equal schools and pay for teachers. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that separate but equal schools were unconstitutional.
Lou Krasky/AP
Law & Courts Should 'Brown v. Board of Education' Be Renamed? The Debate, Explained
Descendants contend the companion case Briggs v. Elliott was unfairly bumped from the top of the historic decision.
Mark Walsh, June 5, 2023
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11 min read
Members of the NAACP Youth and College division rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court as justices heard oral arguments on two cases on whether colleges and universities can continue to consider race as a factor in admissions decisions Oct. 31, 2022.
Members of the NAACP Youth and College division rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear oral arguments on whether colleges and universities can continue to consider race as a factor in admissions.
Francis Chung/E&E News/POLITICO via AP Images
Law & Courts As a Skeptical Supreme Court Weighs Race in College Admissions, 'Brown' Looms Large
The cases heard Monday involve Harvard and the University of North Carolina, but a decision could be felt in K-12 education.
Mark Walsh, October 31, 2022
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8 min read
supreme court SOC
Getty
Law & Courts 4 Things to Know About the Affirmative Action Showdown Before the Supreme Court
The justices on Monday weigh the use of race in admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, with K-12 implications.
Mark Walsh, October 28, 2022
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9 min read
As her pupils bend themselves to their books, teacher Marie Donnelly guides them along in their studies at P.S. 77 in the Glendale section of Queens, New York, Sept. 28, 1959. In her 40 years of teaching, never has Donnelly had so many African-American students in a class. The youngsters were bused to the school from Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, a predominantly black neighborhood where schools are overcrowded. P.S. 77, which had an enrollment of 368 all-white students, can handle 1000 children comfortably. Parents in the Queens neighborhoods objected to influx, but the children themselves adjusted to one another without incident.
A white teacher teaches a newly integrated class at P.S. 77 in the Glendale section of Queens, N.Y., in September 1959.
AP
Teaching Profession Q&A 'Brown v. Board' Decimated the Black Educator Pipeline. A Scholar Explains How
A new book digs into a lesser-known and negative consequence of one of the nation's most significant civil rights milestones.
Madeline Will, May 16, 2022
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9 min read
supreme court SOC
Getty
Law & Courts Leaked Abortion Draft Has Supreme Court Education Cases in Political Cross-Hairs
Conservatives have taken aim at decisions on educating immigrants, race in admissions, and religion. Liberals have some cases in mind, too.
Mark Walsh, May 10, 2022
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8 min read
A crowd of people gather outside the Supreme Court, Monday night, May 2, 2022 in Washington. A draft opinion circulated among Supreme Court justices suggests that earlier this year a majority of them had thrown support behind overturning the 1973 case Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a report published Monday night in Politico. It's unclear if the draft represents the court's final word on the matter. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the draft Politico posted, which if verified marks a shocking revelation of the high court's secretive deliberation process, particularly before a case is formally decided.
A crowd gathers outside the U.S. Supreme Court Monday night after the leak of a draft opinion suggesting the court intends to overturn the 1973 <i>Roe v. Wade</i> precedent that legalized abortion nationwide.
Alex Brandon/AP
Law & Courts 'Brown v. Board' Cited in Draft Supreme Court Opinion to Back Overturning Abortion Rights
The leaked opinion in a case still to be decided by the Supreme Court cites landmark decisions including Brown v. Board of Education.
Mark Walsh, May 3, 2022
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7 min read
Education Barrett Says 'Brown v. Board of Education' Is 'Superprecedent' Beyond Overruling
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett said it would be "unthinkable" for the landmark "Brown" desegregation decision to be overruled.
Mark Walsh, October 13, 2020
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5 min read
Mrs. Ella J. Rice talks to one of her pupils, all of whom are white, in a 3rd grade classroom of the Draper Elementary School in southeast Washington, D.C., September 13, 1954. This was the first day of non-segregated schools for both teachers and pupils in the District of Columbia public school system. Mrs. Rice was the only black teacher in the school.
Mrs. Ella J. Rice talks to one of her pupils, all of whom are white, in a 3rd grade classroom of the Draper Elementary School in southeast Washington, D.C., September 13, 1954. This was the first day of non-segregated schools for both teachers and pupils in the District of Columbia public school system. Mrs. Rice was the only black teacher in the school.
AP
Law & Courts 65 Years After 'Brown v. Board,' Where Are All the Black Educators?
The landmark Supreme Court had an unintended effect that’s still felt today: Thousands of black teachers and principals lost their jobs.
Madeline Will, May 14, 2019
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10 min read
Education Opinion What Kind of Programs Can Help Teacher Diversity?
As we approach the 65th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision, the lack of teacher diversity is stubbornly persistent. "Grow Your Own" programs are one promising solution.
Guest Blogger, February 8, 2019
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3 min read
Education Kavanaugh: 'Brown v. Board of Education' Is Supreme Court's 'Greatest Moment'
Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh praised the landmark desegregation decision at his confirmation hearing, but said the efforts to fulfill its promise remain unfinished.
Mark Walsh, September 5, 2018
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6 min read
Equity & Diversity On 'Brown v. Board of Education' Anniversary, Dems Blast Trump's Civil Rights Record
Congressional Democrats held a forum on various civil rights issues in education on the 64th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case that prohibited laws establishing segregated schools.
Andrew Ujifusa, May 17, 2018
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3 min read
Education 64 Years After Brown v. Board, Many Schools Are Separate and Unequal
Sixty-four years since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the principle of "separate but equal" education, public schools in many communities remain highly segregated and schools where students of color are the majority usually lag behind those with majority white student bodies on things like access to rigorous courses and school-based librarians.
Lesli A. Maxwell, May 16, 2018
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3 min read
School & District Management Decades After Brown v. Board, Unequal Class Offerings Remain a Problem
A new study shows just how thin the course offerings can be at some schools serving mostly students of color in comparison to the curricula at nearby, white-majority schools.
Sasha Jones, May 14, 2018
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3 min read
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