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70 Years Later—The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education

2024 marks the 70th anniversary of the United State Supreme Court’s 1954 landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. In Brown, a unanimous Supreme Court held that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine that it had adopted in Plessy v. Ferguson, an 1896 case that addressed whether states could legally require railroad companies to provide equal but separate accommodations for passengers of different races.

 

Brown v. Board of Education is widely accepted as one of the most momentous Supreme Court decisions, but views differ regarding what impact it has had on the law and our society.

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In addressing this topic, discuss what impact you think Brown has had and why. Below are some examples of questions that you could consider in thinking about these issues:

Did Brown influence changes in the law, or in society, beyond the decision in that case, or were any changes that happened after Brown inevitable?

Did Brown affect the way that Americans view the Supreme Court, or affect how Supreme Court conducts itself?

Should the Supreme Court consider how its decision on a particular subject impacts society, or how the decision is viewed by the public?

The following is a collection of materials you might find helpful.

The Supreme Court of the United States was established as the highest authority in the nation to interpret law and resolve legal disputes.  As the Supreme Court establishes on its website, “As the final arbiter of the law, the Court is charged with ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution.”

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and the Doctrine of “Separate but Equal.”

 

In 1890, Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act which required that all railroads operating in the

state provide “equal but separate accommodations” for white and African American passengers. The Act prohibited passengers from entering accommodations other than those to which they had been assigned on the basis of their race.

Paving the Way for Brown: Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County


While many know Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared segregated public schools to be unconstitutional, less familiar to many is the foundational 1947 California Ninth Circuit case, Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County.

Additional links focusing on desegregation and the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education.

Thurgood Marshall was one of the country's greatest jurists and civil rights advocates, but he was also a gifted storyteller who liked to leaven even a serious tale with a sprinkling of humor. With his keen intelligence and wit, he was a source of inspiration for the young lawyers who worked in his chambers.

In a video prepared by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in recognition of African American History Month, five of Marshall’s former clerks share their recollections of the legal mastermind behind the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision who went on to become America’s first African American Supreme Court justice. The video was created in partnership with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where Marshall served before his elevation to the high court.

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