Brown vs Board of Education

One of the most famous Supreme Court decisions of all time was handed down on the 17th of May 1954, Norway's Constitution Day. It was written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose father came to the US from the west coast of Norway. Coincidence? Communist plot? Cosmic pattern? You decide.

Anyways, the decision is known today as "Brown v Board of Education", and was the landmark case that struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal" in public schools. This had been the law of the land since the Supreme Court's own ruling in "Plessy v Ferguson" in 1896. It was, in many ways, the beginning of the civil rights struggle which reached its high point in the 60s, with everything from voting acts to violent riots.

Wednesday morning I stopped by the Brown v Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas. It is located in the old Monroe School building, Monroe being one of the four "black" elementary schools in Topeka at the time. The exhibit is quite good, especially with all the historical background and personal stories connected to the actual events.

Some of the other stuff, like more recent "civil rights" struggles, which in many cases is socialism by another name (and still stinks), was a little too kumbaya (if you'll pardon the expression) for my taste. But the general impression is very positive.

All pics here.

The old school, built in 1926.




The interior. They had a no-flash policy which effectively killed the opportunity to take pics, since all the exhibits were in quite dark rooms.


A touch of childlike innocence.