What is Brown v. Board of Education?
Brown v. Board of Education, a 1954 landmark Supreme Court case, irrevocably changed education in the United States by ending an era of segregation in public schools. The "separate but equal" concept was established after the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, essentially marking the birth of the Jim Crow era in the United States.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Opinion; May 17, 1954; Records of the Supreme Court of the United States; Record Group 267; National Archives.
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c27042
“We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place."
-Excerpt from the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Decision
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George E.C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and James Nabrit after the Brown Decision
https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TFHFL19540521.1.1
The Farmville Herald - A predominantly white publication
“Segregation Declared Unconstitutional,” Roanoke Tribune, May 22, 1954. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/.
The Tribune - A predominantly black publication