America was involved in the Cold War, and the US’ claims of democracy and freedom were undermined by policies which did not afford Black Americans the same freedom or democracy.
It was the plaintiff’s goal to overturn this precedent.Ĭivil RIghts issues were mounting during the 1950s and 60s. A doctrine of “Separate but Equal” was previously upheld by the Court and found not in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment in Plessy v Ferguson (1896). Brown and the NAACP argued that school segregation violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Representing the plaintiffs was Thurgood Marshall, who went on to be the United States’ first African American Supreme Court Justice. Since Brown was alphabetically first, the case was titled Brown v Board of Education of Topeka (1954). When Linda was denied enrollment, her father and thirteen other plaintiffs sued their Boards of Education. The NAACP had similar asks of African-American parents in South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and DC.
Both Brown and the NAACP expected the Court to turn Linda away. The NAACP asked Linda’s father Oliver to enroll his daughter in the all-white school which was closer to them. Brown was forced to travel this distance because of the racial segregation policies in schooling in Topeka.Īt the time, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) wanted the Supreme Court to rule that segregation in schooling was unconstitutional.
In addition, the white elementary school had better facilities than the all-black school. However, the white elementary school was much closer to her house, only four blocks away. In order to attend school each day, Linda had to cross railroad tracks and take a bus. Linda Brown attended an all-black Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas. Linda Brown was a seven-year-old girl who became the face of one of the most impactful Supreme Court cases in United States history.
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