Brown v. Board of Education 1954

Does racial segregation of public schools violate equal protection?

347 U.S. 483 (1954)Equal protection

The question: Does racial segregation of public schools violate equal protection?
What the Court held: Yes. “In the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place.”
The vote: 9–0
Overruled: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), 58 years earlier.
Era: The early Cold War
Read the opinion: 347 U.S. 483 (1954), full text

This page summarizes the Court’s judgment in neutral terms. The opinion, concurrences and dissents are the authority; read them for the reasoning.

Where the question came from. The events behind it.

1957

Federal troops enforce desegregation in Little Rock

September 24, 1957 · Expansion of rights

President Eisenhower federalizes the Arkansas National Guard and sends the 101st Airborne to escort nine Black students into Central High School after the governor used the Guard to block them.

Source: National Archives