Linda Brown (student) and Oliver Brown (father) plaintiffs in Brown v Board of Ed
By
John C Abercrombie
When we think of Brown v Board of Education – Topeka, Kansas, we think of the landmark decision that ended the “Separate but Equal” doctrine established by Plessy v Ferguson. This post is focused on Linda Brown and her Father Oliver Brown.
When we consider cases, the principal name on the case rarely represents all the players. In this case, there were 13 families represented. Brown was first on the list and therefore the case is known as Brown v Board of Education Keep in mind that the decision covered 5 cases, not 1. In those cases, there were other brave people involved. Many were risking their very future by being a party to a suit because many were fired from their jobs and subject to threats of violence and death.
The threats were not idle as there are many years of terrorism represented by Lynchings, addressed in this series.
Linda Brown was a 3rd grade student who lived 4 blocks from a school, however that school was “Whites Only”. Linda had to walk many blocks beyond that school and was subjected to crossing a railroad switching yard before boarding an overcrowded bus to take her the last 2 miles to school.
Having to brave harsh winters, the traffic and having to spend much time traveling to the school did not seem right. Several parents attempted to enroll their children in the closest school but were denied. The White Schools also showed the absurdity of race as they allowed Native Americans and Latin students, while denying Black students.
During the years, there has been harsh feeling on the subject of busing, but it centers on who is being bused and why. Many White students have been bused to schools away to avoid sending them to Black schools while Black students have had to walk past 1 or more “White” schools to get to a Black school.
The wheels of justice often run exceedingly slow and such was it in this case. By the time of the Brown v Board of Education decision, Linda was no longer a 3rd grade student and was in the Middle or Junior High School, which were integrated the entire time. The price that was paid made it possible for those coming after her.
There is now a Brown Foundation. Established in October of 1988, The Brown Foundation grew out of a cooperative effort between the family of the late Oliver Brown and local community leaders. See the Brown Foundation Story. The concept was to create an entity that would serve not simply as a commemorative organization, but as a crucible for public discourse around the ongoing impact and significance of Brown v. Board of Education. Brown Foundation
Many owe a debt of gratitude to Linda Brown – it is with respect and a sorrow that Linda Brown passed on March 25, 2018.
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Linda Brown on Brown v. Board April 29. 2004
Linda Brown speaking at Chautauqua Institution on April 29, 2004 on the 50th Anniversary of the historic case of Brown v. Board
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Children’s Books
The entire series of cases that became known as Brown v Board started with the desire of Black parents to obtain a quality education for their children. Kids that were capable of learning but were forced to attend dilapidated schools with extremely limited resources. The best thing you can do for a child is to get them excited about education and that starting point is below with our Amazon affiliate link
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Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone:
The Brown vs. Board of Education Decision When the Supreme Court decision to desegregate public schools was handed down in 1954, the course of American history was forever changed. Here are personal reflections, stories, and poems from ten of today’s most accomplished writers for children, all young people themselves at the time of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Included are Michael Cart, Jean Craighead George, Eloise Greenfield, Lois Lowry, Katherine Paterson, Ishmael Reed, Jerry Spinelli, Quincy Troupe, Joyce Carol Thomas, and Leona Nicholas Welch. With a compelling introduction by editor Joyce Carol Thomas and stunning pastel artwork by Curtis E. James, this collection celebrates the hard-earned promise of equality in education.
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Comics and Graphic Novels
This is a category that we don’t give full credit. Why? Because they show pictures, but they have the ability to spark the inquisitive mind and that is a good thing. Once the desire for more information is sparked, people seek more information which leads to reading and reading proficiency. Our goal is to spark that desire for information by finding the subjects that fuel it. Use our Amazon affiliate to explore this category .
ABH – Comics and Graphic Novels
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60 years on, school segregation isn’t yet American history
Sixty years after Brown v. Board of Education, the question of how far we’ve come in eliminating segregated education is not a simple one. Gwen Ifill leads a discussion with Cheryl Brown Henderson of the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research, Sheryll Cashin of Georgetown University, Catherine Lhamon of the Department of Education and Ron Brownstein of Atlantic Media.
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From the Grassroots to the Supreme Court: Brown v. Board of Education and American Democracy (Constitutional Conflicts)
Perhaps more than any other Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision declaring the segregation of public schools unconstitutional, highlighted both the possibilities and the limitations of American democracy. This collection of sixteen original essays by historians and legal scholars takes the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Brown to reconsider the history and legacy of that landmark decision. From the Grassroots to the Supreme Court juxtaposes oral histories and legal analysis to provide a nuanced look at how men and women understood Brown and sought to make the decision meaningful in their own lives.
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How Oliver Brown Would Have Reacted To The 1960s | This Day Forward |
msnbc The landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ended segregation in America’s schools. But that case’s namesake, Oliver Brown, hardly lived long enough to see it.
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Brown v. Board of Education: A Fight for Simple Justice
An award-winning author chronicles the story behind the landmark Supreme Court decision in this fascinating account for young readers. In 1954, one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions of the twentieth Century aimed to end school segregation in the United States. The ruling was the culmination of work by many people who stood up to racial inequality, some risking significant danger and hardship, and of careful strategizing by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
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Ending School Segregation | Brown v. Board of Education
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What Brown v. Board of Education Should Have Said:
The Nation’s Top Legal Experts Rewrite America’s Landmark Civil Rights Decision Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 decision ordering the desegregation of America’s public schools, is perhaps the most famous case in American constitutional law. Criticized and even openly defied when first handed down, in half a century Brown has become a venerated symbol of equality and civil rights. Its meaning, however, remains as contested as the case is celebrated. In the decades since the original decision, constitutional interpreters of all stripes have found within its different meanings. Both supporters and opponents of affirmative action have claimed the mantle of Brown, criticizing the other side for betraying its spirit. Meanwhile, the opinion itself has often been criticized as bland and uninspiring, carefully written to avoid controversy and maintain unanimity among the Justices. As the 50th anniversary of Brown approaches, America’s schools are increasingly divided by race and class
ABH – What Brown Should Have Said
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Brown v. Board of Education Summary | quimbee.com
An animated case brief of Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
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Books and Textbooks
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The case of Brown has become a venerated symbol of equality and civil rights. Its meaning, however, remains as contested as the case is celebrated. In the decades since the original decision, constitutional interpreters of all stripes have found within its different meanings.
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Remembering Linda Brown’s Legacy
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We get a chance to see who Brown of Brown v Board is. We see parents that just wanted the best for their daughter. They were aware of the concerns of walking past a neighborhood and having to cross a railroad switching yard in the dark to walk a mile to catch a bus to go to an ill equipped school. We see concerns that should be high on the list of concerns of ALL parents and come away wondering what kind of people would deny anyone the choice.