Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

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Brown v. Board of Education (1954) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. On May 17, 1954, the Court unanimously ruled 9–0 that separate educational facilities for white and African American students were inherently unequal, violating the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. This decision overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. The case was initiated by Oliver Brown and other African American parents in Topeka, Kansas, who sought to enroll their children in all-white schools. The decision was argued by Thurgood Marshall and was a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement. It led to further integration efforts in other public facilities. However, implementation faced resistance, particularly in the South. A follow-up decision, Brown II (1955), mandated desegregation "with all deliberate speed." The ruling emphasized the psychological impact of segregation on children, citing studies that showed it generated feelings of inferiority. Despite its profound impact, the decision did not specify how to achieve desegregation, leading to ongoing legal battles and social challenges.