On May 17, 1954, Brown v. Board of Education was decided by the United States Supreme Court. The High Court eradicated racial segregation in public schools by ruling that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” In arriving at its decision, the Supreme Court found that the “separate but equal” doctrine violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This year marks the 70th anniversary of this landmark case.
In September of 1950, Reverend Oliver Brown sought to have his seven-year-old daughter, Linda Brown, enrolled at the Sumner School in Topeka, Kansas. The school denied her admission on account of her race. A contested legal battle ensued. The case would eventually end up before the United States Supreme Court.
The Brown family was represented by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). The LDF was founded and directed by civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall, who argued the case before the Supreme Court on behalf of the Brown family. He was assisted by many other lawyers on the Brown case, including attorney Constance Baker Motley, who later became the first African American woman to serve as a federal judge in 1966. Marshall, meanwhile, would go on to serve as the first African American associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1967.
In May 1954, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision (9-0), declaring public school segregation unconstitutional. The decision was authored by Chief Justice Earl Warren.
The associate justices who voted to end school segregation included Hugo Black, Harold Burton, Tom Clark, William Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, Robert Jackson, Sherman Minton, and Stanley Reed. Despite being a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, Associate Justice Hugo Black took a stance against discrimination by voting with the other justices in the Brown case.
The Brown decision established a milestone in race relations by integrating public school systems throughout our nation. The written decision amounted to 12 pages, which is relatively short by Supreme Court standards. However, those 12 pages left an indelible mark on history.
In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Brown case, I recently brought a public school class to the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in Lower Manhattan. The students toured the iconic courthouse and interacted with practicing attorneys in the courthouse’s learning center. Moreover, the students had the opportunity to hear from a district judge of the Southern District of New York and a circuit judge for the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the end of the field trip, the students expressed their heartfelt appreciation for the worthwhile experience. It was truly gratifying to acquaint the students with the courthouse that bears the name of the chief architect who prevailed in Brown v. Board of Education.
I encourage members of the legal profession and educators to expose students to the courts at an early age. Early exposure will foster admiration for the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice—ultimately making the courthouse more approachable and accessible for everyone.
Judge Phil Solages is a Court of Claims Judge currently serving as an Acting Supreme Court Justice in Mineola, New York.