Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Slavery was never legally established in Kansas, and racial separation there was less rigid than in the Deep South. School segregation was permitted by local option, but only in elementary schools. In 1950 the state capital, Topeka, operated four elementary schools for black children.
African American parents and local activists from the NAACP challenged Topeka’s policy of segregated schooling. They filed their case in U.S. District Court in 1951. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas gave its name to the collection of cases that ended segregation in public schools.
Brown v. Board of Education Legal Case Summary
Place: Topeka, Kansas
Grievance: Segregated elementary schools, and the harmful psychological effects of segregation on African American children
Plaintiffs: Oliver Brown and 13 other parents from Topeka
Decision: A three-judge federal court ruled against the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs’ appeal reached the U.S. Supreme Court.