In the early 50's, most public schools in America were segregated. Proponents of segregation claimed that the system was not discriminatory because the level of education provided was the same: "separate but equal."

In 1954, the NAACP brought suit against the Topeka, Kansas Board of Education on behalf of Linda Brown, a Black third-grader who had to walk one mile through a railroad switchyard to get to school, even though there was a White school only a few blocks away.

The case was eventually heard by the Supreme Court, which overturned previous decisions in this area by ruling that the "separate but equal" principle did not hold true for public education. The decision paved the way for the federal government's later efforts to integrate public schools.