On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case. It was a landmark decision that declared the segregation of public schools to be a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore unconstitutional. At the heart of this case was a class action lawsuit brought by local families against the Topeka Board of Education for forcing black and white students to attend separate schools. Among the plaintiffs was the Brown family — specifically Linda Brown, who became the face of the movement to desegregate schools. This case is considered to be a watershed moment in the Civil Rights Movement, setting the stage for legislative action in the 1960s.
Linda Brown sits in the middle of other students on the bus to the racially segregated Monroe Elementary School
Linda Brown (center) and her sister Terry Lynn (far right) sit on a bus as they ride to the racially segregated Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas, March 1953. The Brown family initiated the landmark Civil Rights lawsuit Brown v. Board of Education that led to the beginning of integration in the U.S. education system. (Photo by Carl Iwasaki/Getty Images)
Attorneys who argued Brown v. Board of Education stand in front of the Supreme Court Building
Attorneys who argued the case against segregation stand together smiling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building after the decision was handed down. From left to right are: George E.C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and James Nabrit, Jr. (Getty Images)
Nettie Hunt explains the meaning of the ruling to her daughter Nickie outside the Supreme Court building
Nettie Hunt and her daughter Nickie sit on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. Nettie explains to her daughter the meaning of the high court’s ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann via Getty Images)
Portrait of the children involved in the landmark lawsuit
A 1953 portrait of the children involved in Brown V. Board of Education. From front, Vicki Henderson, Donald Henderson, Linda Brown, James Emanuel, Nancy Todd, and Katherine Carper. (Photo by Carl Iwasaki/Getty Images)
John Davis (left) argued for segregation and Thurgood Marshall argued against
John Davis (left) and Thurgood Marshall argued for and against (respectively) school segregation before the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. Marshall’s arguments succeeded, and he went on to become a Supreme Court Justice. (Getty Images)
Linda Brown outside Sumner Elementary
Portrait of nine-year-old Linda Brown outside Sumner Elementary School, Topkea, Kansas, 1953. When her enrollment in the racially segregated school was blocked, her family initiated Brown v. Board of Education. (Photo by Carl Iwasaki/Getty Images)
Nathaniel Steward recites his lesson in a desegregated classroom
A Black student, Nathaniel Steward, 17, recites his lesson in a desegregated classroom at the Saint-Dominique school in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Linda Brown sits with her classmates at the racially segregated Monroe Elementary School
Linda Brown (first desk in second row from right) sits with her classmates at the segregated Monroe Elementary School, Topeka, Kansas, 1953. (Photo by Carl Iwasaki/Getty Images)
NAACP brochure published on the first anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision
NAACP brochure reading “Remember May 17th!” — a single leaf folded in half as issued — published near the first anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1955. (Photo by Potter and Potter Auctions/Gado/Getty Images)
Students for whom the Brown v. Board case was brought and their parents
1953 portrait of the students for whom Brown v. Board of Education was brought and their parents: (front row L-R) Vicki Henderson, Donald Henderson, Linda Brown, James Emanuel, Nancy Todd, Katherine Carper; (back row L-R) Zelma Henderson, Oliver Brown, Sadie Emanuel, Lucinda Todd, Lena Carper. (Photo by Carl Iwasaki/Getty Images)
An adult Linda Brown answering questions from the press regarding her 1954 case against the board of Education
Linda Brown answering questions from the press in 1984. (Photo by Don Hogan Charles/New York Times Co./Getty Images)
White protesters on the anniversary of the Brown v. Board ruling hold signs, 2004
White Revolution chairman Billy Roper unknowingly holds a misspelled sign during an event he organized to protest the anniversary of the Brown v. The Board of Educationruling on May 15, 2004 in Topeka, Kansas. A White Revolution member had made several signs and handed them out to participants as they got off the bus at the protest site. After looking at the sign later Roper realized he had been carrying the sign with an error. (Photo by David S. Holloway/Getty Images)
Linda Brown as she walks past Sumner Elementary
Linda Brown as she walks past Sumner Elementary School, Topkea, Kansas, 1953. (Photo by Carl Iwasaki/Getty Images)
The Monroe School historic site of Brown v. Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas
The Monroe Elementary School in 2014, now a historic site commemorating Brown v. Board of Education. (Photo by Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
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