Although this author knew very little about the details of "Brown v. Board of Education" as a legal matter when he read about it as a young second-year student at the University of Cape Town in 1954, the Court's verdict had a direct influence on his political perspectives and on his aspirations as a would-be teacher for the rest of his…

In this review, historical events are used to depict those aspects of American and especially black history which preceded the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Slavery, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement are discussed. Efforts to achieve equal educational opportunity are described and an overview of school desegregation and other…