Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education

Smithsonian National Museum of American History Behring Center



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Segregated America
The Battleground
Legal Campaign
Five Communities Change a Nation
The Decision
  • Defenders of Segregation
  • Segregationists’ Argument
  • Challengers of Segregation
  • Integrationists’ Argument
  • Reaching a Decision
  • Court’s Decision
  • Timeline
Legacy
Supreme Court Decision Timeline

April 11, 1955

Arguments begin before the Court for implementing the Brown decision. The purpose of this hearing is to provide an outline for desegregating public schools.
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May 31, 1955

The Supreme Court issues Brown II. This ruling provides the basis for implementing public school desegregation. The Court sets no deadline for ending segregated public education and orders the states to integrate their schools with “all deliberate speed.”
Political cartoon: Marshall on train

Political cartoon: Marshall on train

The Baltimore Afro-American, July 2, 1955
(Courtesy of Baltimore Afro-American Archives)

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