Brown v. Board of Education Case Brief
(Home)
Kate Dowdy
Junior Division
In 1951, Linda Brown applied to a an "all white" school. She was denied because of her race (African American), and was forced to go to a school much father from her house, which was all black. Her father, Oliver Brown, was outraged and went to the NAACP (more details about them on page 2), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for help. They gave him the assistance of Thurgood Marshall, the top lawyer at NAACP. He took this case all the way to the Supreme Court, where he argued that separate but equal wasn't actually equal, and that African American schools were in worse conditions than white schools. And sure enough, after many cases, like Allen v. Wright, Robert v. City of Boston, and Murray v. Maryland, made similar arguments, Chief Judge Earl Warren, who had just recently joined the justices, took the leadership role and led his fellow justices into the unanimous vote that separate wasn't equal, and that Brown in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, wins! Soon after, Linda Brown was able to attend Topeka High School, the school she first applied to.
Kate Dowdy
Junior Division
In 1951, Linda Brown applied to a an "all white" school. She was denied because of her race (African American), and was forced to go to a school much father from her house, which was all black. Her father, Oliver Brown, was outraged and went to the NAACP (more details about them on page 2), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for help. They gave him the assistance of Thurgood Marshall, the top lawyer at NAACP. He took this case all the way to the Supreme Court, where he argued that separate but equal wasn't actually equal, and that African American schools were in worse conditions than white schools. And sure enough, after many cases, like Allen v. Wright, Robert v. City of Boston, and Murray v. Maryland, made similar arguments, Chief Judge Earl Warren, who had just recently joined the justices, took the leadership role and led his fellow justices into the unanimous vote that separate wasn't equal, and that Brown in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, wins! Soon after, Linda Brown was able to attend Topeka High School, the school she first applied to.