What did the case brown v. board of education of topeka decide?
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Three lawyers confer at the Supreme Court, 1953. Gelatin silver print. New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (98)"> Three lawyers confer at the Supreme Court, 1953. Gelatin silver print. New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (98) Show
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and its legal offspring, the Legal Defense and Educational Fund, developed a systematic attack against the doctrine of “separate but equal.” The campaign started at the graduate and professional educational levels. The attack culminated in five separate cases gathered together under the name of one of them—Oliver Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Aware of the gravity of the issue and concerned with the possible political and social repercussions, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case argued on three separate occasions in as many years. The Court weighed carefully considerations involving adherence to legal precedent, social-science findings on the negative effects of segregation, and the marked inferiority of the schools that African Americans were forced to attend. The Supreme Court announced its unanimous decision on May 17, 1954. It held that school segregation violated the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The following year the Court ordered desegregation “with all deliberate speed.” Discover! Kenneth B. Clark's “Doll Test” Notebook The Library of Congress does not have permission to show this image online. Notebook recording data concerning the “Doll Test,” 1940–1941. Kenneth B. Clark Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (61) Dr. Kenneth Clark Conducting the “Doll Test”Reading Lesson in Washington, D.C.Kenneth B. Clark's “Doll Test” Data SheetThe Library of Congress does not have permission to show this image online. Sample Doll Test data sheet, n.d. Kenneth B. Clark Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (64) Briggs v. Elliott (South Carolina)The Library of Congress does not have permission to show this image online. Testimony of Expert Witnesses at Trial of Clarendon County School Case Direct Examination by Robert L. Carter, May 29, 1951. Transcript. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (57) Discover! Bolling v. Sharpe, (Washington D.C.)U. S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1954 Term. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, Law Library, Library of Congress (57B) Brief of the Attorneys for the Plaintiffs in BrownBrief of the Attorneys for the Plaintiffs (Charles E. Bledsoe, Charles Scott, Robert L. Carter, Jack Greenberg, and Thurgood Marshall) in the case of Oliver Brown, . . .delivered in the United States Court for the District of Kansas, June 1951. Page 2. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (54) Courtesy of the NAACP Discover! Finding of Fact for the Case of Oliver BrownOpinion and Finding of Fact for the case of Oliver Brown, et al. v. Board of Education Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, et al. Delivered in the United States Court for the District of Kansas, 1951. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (55) Courtesy of the NAACP Gebhart v. Belton; Gebhart v. Bulah (Delaware)The Library of Congress does not have permission to show this image online. Trial Memorandum from Jack Greenberg concerning the Wilmington school case, October 11, 1951. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (58) A Court Rules: Equalization, Not IntegrationUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Final Decree, [1952]. Typed memorandum. Kenneth Clark Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (59) Brief for Appellants, Brown v. Board, 1953Brief for Appellants in the cases of Brown v. Board of Education: Oliver Brown, et al. v. Board of Education, Kansas et al.; . . . in the United States Supreme Court-October Term, 1953. Washington: GPO, 1953. Pamphlet. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (73) Courtesy of the NAACP Waiting for Courtroom SeatsThree Lawyers Confer at the Supreme CourtThree lawyers confer at the Supreme Court, 1953. Gelatin silver print. New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (98) Brown Attorneys After the Decision“Segregation in Schools is Outlawed”Humiliation and InferiorityWarren Works For UnanimityEarl Warren to members of the Court, May 7, 1954. Typed memorandum. Earl Warren Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (80) “A Beautiful Job”William Douglas to Earl Warren, May 11, 1954. Holograph letter. Earl Warren Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (81A) “A Great Day for America”Harold H. Burton to Earl Warren, May 17, 1954. Holograph letter. Earl Warren Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (82) Frankfurter's Congratulations to WarrenFelix Frankfurter to Earl Warren, May 17, 1954. Holograph letter. Earl Warren Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (82B) Warren's Reading Copy of the Brown Opinion, 1954Earl Warren's reading copy of Brown opinion, May 17, 1954. Earl Warren Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (83) Discover! Celebration of the Supreme Court's DecisionSegregation Ruling Explained to the PressCongratulatory Telegram on Brown DecisionAnson Phelps Stokes to Channing Tobias, Chairman of the NAACP, offering congratulations on the NAACP's victory in Brown v. Board of Education. Telegram. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (96) Courtesy of the NAACP Congratulatory Letter on the Brown DecisionWilliam L. Patterson, Executive Secretary of the Civil Rights Congress, to Walter White congratulating White on the NAACP's victory in Brown v. Board of Education, May 17, 1954. Typed letter. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (95) Courtesy of the NAACP An African American ResponseThe Library of Congress does not have permission to show this image online. The Crisis magazine: A Record of the Darker Races. Volume 61, no. 6 (June–July, 1954). General Collections, Library of Congress (92) Conferring at the Supreme CourtFrankfurter's Draft Decree in Brown II, 1955Felix Frankfurter's draft decree in Brown II, April 8, 1955. Page 2. Typescript with emendations. Felix Frankfurter Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (107) Topeka School MapThe Library of Congress does not have permission to show this image online. Raymond F. Tilzey. The Elementary School District Boundaries for the City of Topeka 1955–1956. Printed Map. Earl Warren Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (109) Southern White Liberal ReactionThe Library of Congress does not have permission to show this image online. Ralph McGill to Earl Warren, June 1, 1955. Typed letter. Earl Warren Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (113A) Adverse Reactions to BrownThe Library of Congress does not have permission to show this image online. Lee Hagood to Simon Sobeloff, September 29, 1955. Typed letter. Earl Warren Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (116A) Discover! Thurgood MarshallTime magazine, September 19, 1955. Cover. General Collections, Library of Congress (115) Courtesy of Time-Life Pictures, Getty Images |
