Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Black children in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware were denied admission to white public schools under laws permitting or requiring racial segregation. The consolidated cases challenged the constitutionality of racial segregation in public education under the Equal Protection Clause. The plaintiffs argued that segregated schools were inherently unequal.

Significance

Chief Justice Warren’s unanimous opinion overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in the context of public education. The Court held that ‘separate educational facilities are inherently unequal,’ depriving Black children of equal educational opportunity regardless of the physical equality of facilities. The decision relied heavily on social science evidence showing the psychological harm of segregation. Brown is arguably the most important Supreme Court decision of the 20th century, marking the beginning of the civil rights movement’s legal triumph. The Court ordered implementation ‘with all deliberate speed’ in Brown II (1955).

Category

US Federal Case Law