Brown v. Board of Education Its Legal and Historical Legacy, then and today

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is one of the seminal legal markers of the civil rights era. The U.S. Supreme Court's finding in favor of Brown marked the transformation of the civil rights movement from a social and a historical force to one that had created a real, measurable political and legal impact upon American society. It changed American law, invalidating Plessy v. Ferguson 1896's allowance of supposedly separate but equal accommodations between the races. In the minds of African-Americans, the Supreme Court decision stated, there could be no such equality of the races in separation, in actuality, because separation of any racially influenced kind inevitably resulted in inequality, psychologically as well as practically. This was true particularly in the impressionable minds of children.

In arguing as for the relevance of Brown today in education, thus its legacy seems almost self-evident -- the racially integrative nature of the American public, and by and large private, system of elementary, secondary, and higher education. Today, Black children and White children and children of all creeds and ethnicities may be educated about one another's various histories side by side. This fact alone, a seminal change in American history, seems to speak for and to the continued relevance of Brown. Moreover, the foundation of the education of children as one of the most important aspects of American racial improvement and dialogue seems to be confirmed by the passing of Brown. Even when it is acknowledged that America...

The court itself stated in the 1954 Brown decision that "today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms." (U.S. Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education, 1954)
Perhaps an even more long-standing testimony to the continued relevance of the evidence presented in favor of Brown is the cases' stress upon how mainstream American culture created low self-esteem in the minds of African-American children, the idea that what was White was 'better' than what was Black. Even the attempts to erase such notions since Brown was decided does not detract from the continued importance of the project of building…