Citation: 347 U.S. 483 (1954) · Court: Warren Court · Vote: Unanimous
Holding
Racial segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court rejected the “separate but equal” doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson in the context of public education.Background
The case consolidated several lawsuits challenging school segregation, led by the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall (later a Supreme Court justice). It was named for Oliver Brown, whose daughter was denied admission to a white school near her home in Topeka, Kansas.The Decision
Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote for a unanimous Court:“We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”The Court found that segregation generated a feeling of inferiority that harmed children’s educational and personal development.