Linda Brown, Student in Landmark Brown v. Board of Education Case, Born on This Day
Linda Brown, daughter of Leola and Oliver Brown of Topeka, Kansas, in the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education was born on this day.
The Brown decision, on May 17, 1954, ruled that racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional, and is considered to be one of the greatest decisions in the history of the Supreme Court.
The Browns lived in a racially integrated neighborhood in Topeka, where she recalled playing with white and Native American children. Her parents were actually satisfied with the segregated school she attended. They were recruited by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to be part of a test case, and were instructed to “Find the nearest white school to your home . . . and attempt to enroll in the fall.” Linda recalled the bright, sunny day in September 1950 when her father took her to Sumner School. The school told her father, “no,” Linda could not enroll. Linda could tell something was wrong. She finally enrolled after the Brown decision in 1954.
As an adult, Linda Brown became an educational consultant and public speaker. In 1979 her family and other plaintiffs reopened the case against the Topeka schools and successfully won the opening several magnet schools to African American students.
Linda Brown died on March 25, 2018, at age 75.
The Brown Foundation continues to honor the legacy and Oliver Brown and his daughter Linda with a program of public discourse about racial segregation in education , and scholarships for racial minority students.