LAD #37: Brown vs. Board of Education

     The Plessy vs. Ferguson case claimed that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional.  The Brown vs Board of Education case brought this into question.  A black school girl, Linda Brown, was forced to walk three miles to get to a designated black school in Topeka, Kansas.  Meanwhile, a while school was located a mere 7 miles from her house.  This was an unfair situation for Linda to be in, for she was forbidden from attending the more convenient white school because of her race.  Brown's parents claimed that it was wrong for their child to be segregated in such a manner.  The school board retaliated by stating that they were merely being realistic and that segregation was something that Linda should learn to deal with as she matures into adulthood.  The case then made its way into the supreme court, where judges had to determine whether or not it violated the fourteenth amendment, regarding equal rights.  The supreme court ultimately decided that it was indeed unconstitutional for it created an obvious black inferiority complex.  Unfortunately, African Americans had to battle many more years for true equality.