Sixty years have passed since the pivotal 1954 Supreme Court case of "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas" and almost fifty years have elapsed since the Higher Education Act of 1965. The Brown decision dismantled public segregated schools in many parts of the country, especially in the South, and racial access in schools…

In this paper we share findings of a textbook analysis in which we explored the treatment of segregated education in eight, widely-used secondary United States history and government textbooks. We positioned our findings within the historiography related to the African American school experience which challenges the notion that the lack of…

Though once a leader in school integration, Massachusetts has regressed over the last two decades as its students of color have experienced intensifying school segregation. This report investigates trends in school segregation in Massachusetts by examining concentration, exposure, and evenness measures by both race and class. First, the report…

This article utilizes "Brown v. Board of Education," which is traditionally taught in college and K-12 history courses as the case that both started the discussion about and ended the practice of segregation in schools, to highlight "testimonios of coalition" as a framework for historical analysis. First, the authors…

Over 50 years after the monumental decision of "Brown v. Board of Education," many U.S. schools remain separate and unequal. This includes schools in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. The article discusses how in the two centuries of public education in Washington, D.C., Black educators used a variety of subversive tactics to…

The scholarship of Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark, referenced in the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in "Brown v. Board of Education," emphasized the nation's color line, not only in the Jim Crow South but in American cities overall. The Clarks pointed out the critical role of context; however, they applied it narrowly to the issue…

This article explores the legacies of the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" Supreme Court decision within the historical context of race relations in the United States. The pursuit by African Americans to exercise their rights of citizenship is described as influenced by the changing face of fear. The Supreme Court decisions that…

A daughter of the lead plaintiff in the landmark ruling recalls the day of the announcement and offers thoughts on its meaning today. (EV)

Historically, the Supreme Court responds to the majority of cases brought before it with a decision or commentary that directs one or both of the parties on what to do--whether reparations by judgment, delivery of specific property, incarceration, or cessation of doing something. In May 1954, when the school segregation cases of "Brown"…

This article takes a look at the Mendez v. Westminster School District, a landmark case that faded into historical obscurity. In the 1940s, Gonzalo and Felicita Mendez wanted their three children to attend the school nearest their farm, which was the 17th Street Elementary School in Westminster. But in the Westminster, Orange County, El Medina,…

As a senior in a segregated Virginia high school, John Stokes helped organize a student strike for better classroom conditions. The retired school principal describes how the events in Prince Edward County in 1951 went on to become part of the Brown v. Board case. (EV)

Marshall's biographer describes how the great lawyer achieved victory and explains why today new enemies of integration are unraveling the gains of the recent past. (EV)

In the waning months of World War II, Latino families in Orange County, California, protested efforts by local authorities to place their children in segregated schools. Their victory presaged the Supreme Court showdown in the next decade. (EV)

Offers a photographic overview of the history of segregation, illustrating how it encompassed education from the outset. (EV)

This book analyzes the two basic constitutional problems in the Brown vs. Board of Education case--how the Constitution prohibits racial segregation, and what can be done under the Constitution to enforce this prohibition. The roles of the justices, interpretations of the Constitution and relevant amendments, the impact of the decision, and…