Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Citation. 347 U.S. 483, 74 S.Ct. 686, 98 L.Ed. 873 (1954).

Brief Fact Summary.

Plaintiffs were denied admission to public schools on the basis of race and challenged the decisions in this consolidated opinion.

Synopsis of Rule of Law.

In the field of public education, the doctrine of separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

Facts.

Plaintiffs were denied admission to public schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race. Plaintiffs argued the segregation deprived Equal Protection under the 14th Amendment.

Issue.

Whether racial segregation of schools is constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Held.

No. The racial segregation of schools is not constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Discussion.

Education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society.

A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, as a tendency to distort the educational and mental development of children and deprives them of some of the benefits they would receive in racially integrated school systems.