"We conclude that the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." —Chief Justice Earl Warren

In Topeka, Kansas in the 1950s, schools were segregated by race. Each day, Linda Brown and her sister had to walk through a dangerous railroad switchyard to get to the bus stop for the ride to their all-black elementary school. There was a school closer to the Brown's house, but it was only for white students. Linda Brown and her family believed that the segregated school system violated the Fourteenth Amendment and took their case to court. Federal district court decided that segregation in public education was harmful to black children, but because all-black schools and all-white schools had similar buildings, transportation, curricula, and teachers, the segregation was legal. The Browns appealed their case to Supreme Court stating that even if the facilities were similar, segregated schools could never be equal to one another. The Court decided that state laws requiring separate but equal schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

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About the materials

These materials were developed for students of various skill levels, and teachers should choose the level that works best for their students.  Answers to the background questions, vocabulary, and activities can be found in the FOR TEACHERS ONLY tab under each case.

Background summary and questions to consider (by reading level)

• •••
• ••
• •

Important vocabulary (by reading level)

• •••/•• 
• •

Legal Concepts

• Equal Protection

Other useful background information

• Diagram of How the Case Moved Through the Court System
• Biographies:
  • Earl Warren
  • Thurgood Marshall

Activities*

The Case

• Does Treating People Equally Mean Treating Them the Same?

• Classifying Arguments for Each Side of the Case

• How a Dissent Can Presage a Ruling: The Case of Justice Harlan

• Immediate Reaction to the Decision: Comparing Regional Media Coverage

• Political Cartoon Analysis

• Paving the Way to Integrated Schools

After the Case

• All Deliberate Speed?

• If You Were a Supreme Court Justice ...

• Was the Promise of Brown Fulfilled?

* Answers to the background questions, vocabulary, and activities can be found in the FOR TEACHERS ONLY tab under each case.

Teaching strategies used

• Classifying Arguments
• Fish Bowl Tag Discussion

• Political Cartoon Analysis

• Role Play
• WebQuest

Planning time and activities

If you have one day . . .

• Begin with the Does Treating People Equally Mean Treating Them the Same? activity.  
• Read the Background summary (•) as a class. Have students identify the arguments for each side and predict the outcome.  
• For homework, have students read the Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown II (1955) and answer the accompanying questions.

If you have two days . . .

• Complete all activities for the first day.  
• Next, complete the Classifying Arguments for Each Side of the Case activity.  
• On the second day, read and discuss the Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown II (1955).  
• Complete the How a Dissent Can Presage a Ruling: The Case of Justice Harlan activity.

If you have three days . . .

• Complete all activities suggested for the first and second days.  
• On the third day, have students complete the following activities: Political Cartoon Analysis.
• For homework, have students complete the All Deliberate Speed? activity.

If you have four days . . .

• Complete all the activities for the first, second, and third days.  
• On the fourth day, students should complete the If You Were a Supreme Court Justice ... activity. 

• Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown I (1954) 
• Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion: Brown II (1955) 
• Summary of the Decision
• Full Text of the Majority Opinion (external link)

Recommended Resources

• Was the Promise of Brown Fulfilled? (Teaching Tolerance)
• Conflict at Little Rock (Center for Technology and Teacher Education, University of Virginia)
• Race and Schools: The Need for Action. (NEA)
• Teacher resources from the Smithsonian Museum of American History
• Teaching Tolerance's Mix It Up program

For Teachers Only