Numerous scholars, historians, and social scientists believe that the most significant decision made by the United States Supreme Court was handed down in the case of "Brown v. the Topeka Kansas Board of Education" (1954). In this case the court declared the legal principle of separate but equal as unconstitutional in public education. This paper traces the principle of separate but equal as it relates to public schooling for black children in the years following the 1954 decision. During these years desegregation has not shown itself to be a reliable vehicle for upward mobility for a vast majority of blacks. Any continued emphasis on racial balance instead of school programs will distract efforts that could more appropriately be aimed at the real problems. Black children will achieve in any school when they receive quality instruction delivered by competent teachers who hold high expectations for their performance. This is not so much an argument against desegregation as it is a call for the promotion of better education for minority youth. (VM)