Brown vs. Board of Education

Time line related to Brown v Board of Education.  Derived from The Southern Poverty Law Center.

  • 1952:   The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Brown v. Board of Education. Thurgood Marshall, who will later become the first African American justice on the Supreme Court, is the lead counsel for the black school children.
  • 1953:  The Supreme Court hears the second round of arguments in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
  • 1954:  In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education overturns Plessy and declares that separate schools are “inherently unequal.” The Court delays deciding on how to implement the decision and asks for another round of arguments.  The Court rules that the federal government is under the same duty as the states and must desegregate the Washington, D.C., schools. (Bolling v. Sharpe).
  • 1955:  In Brown II, the Supreme Court orders the lower federal courts to require desegregation “with all deliberate speed.”