10 things you should know about

Brown v. Board of Education

By History.com, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.29.18
Word Count 745
Level 840L

Image 1. Mother and daughter at U.S. Supreme Court. Nettie Hunt and her daughter, Nickie, sit on the steps of the U.S. Supreme
Court. Nettie explains to her daughter the meaning of the high court's ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case that
segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. Photo from Getty Images.

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court created a new law. The Supreme Court is the highest
court in the U.S. Its nine judges decide on important laws. The law is called Brown v. Board of
Education. It said schools could no longer be separated by race. Here are 10 facts about this
important moment in U.S. history.

1. Before the Brown v. Board of Education law, many states separated blacks and whites into
different schools. These states were mostly in the South. Washington, D.C., also demanded
separate, or segregated, schools. The schools were supposed to be “separate but equal.” This
idea was stated in the Supreme Court’s 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling. However, black schools
were much worse than white schools. Many black schools lacked cafeterias, libraries, running
water and electricity.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

2. Brown v. Board of Education started as five cases. In 1950 and 1951, lawsuits happened in
Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C. The parents who brought the
lawsuits to court were the plaintiffs. One of the plaintiffs was Oliver Brown. Brown was from
Topeka, Kansas. His daughter was student Linda Brown. She had to travel one mile to an all-
black school. Instead, she could have gone to a white school seven blocks from her house.

In 1952, the Supreme Court combined the five cases. Brown’s name appeared in the title on
purpose. A Supreme Court justice later explained why. They used the name of someone who was
not from a Southern state. They believed the problem went beyond the South.

School Segregation Called "An Evil" By Judge

3. None of the lower court cases won. In Kansas, the ruling said Topeka’s black schools were
equal enough. Nonetheless, there was hope for an appeal to the Supreme Court. In South
Carolina, Judge J. Waties Waring called segregation “an evil." In Kansas, the court said
segregation was harmful.

4. The plaintiffs took risks. Some plaintiffs and their family members lost their jobs. Retaliation
was severe in South Carolina. Whites burned down the house and church of plaintiff Joseph
DeLaine. They shot at DeLaine too. He left and never returned. Judge Waring also left. People
said they were going to kill him.

Thurgood Marshall Served As Lawyer For Plaintiffs

5. Thurgood Marshall was the plaintiffs' lawyer. Marshall was the great-grandson of a slave.
Marshall became the top lawyer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP). Marshall said segregation was emotionally damaging. After the Supreme Court
ruled in his favor, Marshall declared, “I was so happy, I was numb.” He later became the first
black Supreme Court justice.

6. The U.S. government mostly supported Marshall's case. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was
less supportive. Eisenhower hesitated to use his power as president to support the decision.

All Nine Justices Back Ruling To End Segregation

7. All nine Supreme Court justices ruled to end segregation in Brown v. Board of Education. The
ruling said education is the start to being good citizens. It also said separating black children
because of their race creates a feeling of weakness. This "may affect their hearts and minds in a
way unlikely ever to be undone.”

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

8. The case had a part two. The Supreme Court included no instructions in Brown v. Board of
Education. It did not say how to bring blacks and whites together in schools. The second ruling
was called Brown II. It was issued in May 1955. It said judges should make sure the schools in
their towns integrate.

Some People In The South Refuse To Integrate School

9. Many fought against the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Some Southerners refused to
integrate schools. In 1958, for example, Virginia officials closed certain schools rather than open
them to blacks. In 1964, only 1 percent of black children in the South attended school with whites.
Those who did were often bullied. Schools did not start integrating much until the late 1960s.

10. U.S. schools today remain widely segregated. There have been some improvements. Still,
Brown v. Board of Education did not end school segregation. In New York City, more than half of
public schools have 9 out of 10 students who are black or Hispanic. In Alabama, nearly 1 in 4
black students attend a school where whites make up 1 percent or less of the students. A report
was issued in 2014 by a group in Washington, D.C. It said poor black children are still very
racially segregated in schools.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3

Quiz

1 Read the paragraph from the article.

U.S. schools today remain widely segregated. There have been some
improvements. Still, Brown v. Board of Education did not end school
segregation. In New York City, more than half of public schools have 9
out of 10 students who are black or Hispanic. In Alabama, nearly 1 in 4
black students attend a school where whites make up 1 percent or less
of the students. A report was issued in 2014 by a group in Washington,
D.C. It said poor black children are still very racially segregated in
schools.

HOW does this paragraph support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It demonstrates that there are still issues with segregation despite the Brown v.
Board of Education ruling.

(B) It shows all of the negative effects Brown v. Board of Education has had on
children who are black and poor.

(C) It illustrates that Brown v. Board of Education has helped eliminate almost all
segregation.

(D) It explains all of the recent improvements that have been made to Brown v. Board
of Education.

2 Which sentence from the article BEST supports the article's CENTRAL idea?

(A) The Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S.

(B) It said schools could no longer be separated by race.

(C) Washington, D.C., also demanded separate, or segregated, schools.

(D) Whites burned down the house and church of plaintiff Joseph DeLaine.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4

3 This article is organized using events in order.

WHY do you think the author chose to organize the information this way?

(A) to present the facts of Brown v. Board of Education clearly so that the readers can
understand what led to the ruling and what happened after it was made

(B) to explain the many problems that segregated schools caused before Brown v.
Board of Education and to show how schools are much different today

(C) to highlight the differences between black schools and white schools before the
Supreme Court made the Brown v. Board of Education law

(D) to list all of the positive results that have occurred since the Brown v. Board of
Education law was passed on May 17, 1954

4 This article is organized using an events in order structure.

HOW would the article be different if it were organized using problem and solution?

(A) The article may have tried to point out the differences between segregated
schools in the 1950s with segregated schools today.

(B) The article may have listed all of the court rulings that lead up to Brown v. Board of
Education so that the reader can trace its history.

(C) The article may have presented some of the issues black children faced in
segregated schools and how Brown v. Board helped those students.

(D) The article may have talked about how Thurgood Marshall eventually became a
Supreme Court justice because of his role in the case.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5

Answer Key

1 Read the paragraph from the article.

U.S. schools today remain widely segregated. There have been some
improvements. Still, Brown v. Board of Education did not end school
segregation. In New York City, more than half of public schools have 9
out of 10 students who are black or Hispanic. In Alabama, nearly 1 in 4
black students attend a school where whites make up 1 percent or less
of the students. A report was issued in 2014 by a group in Washington,
D.C. It said poor black children are still very racially segregated in
schools.

HOW does this paragraph support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It demonstrates that there are still issues with segregation despite the
Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

(B) It shows all of the negative effects Brown v. Board of Education has had on
children who are black and poor.

(C) It illustrates that Brown v. Board of Education has helped eliminate almost all
segregation.

(D) It explains all of the recent improvements that have been made to Brown v. Board
of Education.

2 Which sentence from the article BEST supports the article's CENTRAL idea?

(A) The Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S.

(B) It said schools could no longer be separated by race.

(C) Washington, D.C., also demanded separate, or segregated, schools.

(D) Whites burned down the house and church of plaintiff Joseph DeLaine.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6

3 This article is organized using events in order.

WHY do you think the author chose to organize the information this way?

(A) to present the facts of Brown v. Board of Education clearly so that the
readers can understand what led to the ruling and what happened after it
was made

(B) to explain the many problems that segregated schools caused before Brown v.
Board of Education and to show how schools are much different today

(C) to highlight the differences between black schools and white schools before the
Supreme Court made the Brown v. Board of Education law

(D) to list all of the positive results that have occurred since the Brown v. Board of
Education law was passed on May 17, 1954

4 This article is organized using an events in order structure.

HOW would the article be different if it were organized using problem and solution?

(A) The article may have tried to point out the differences between segregated
schools in the 1950s with segregated schools today.

(B) The article may have listed all of the court rulings that lead up to Brown v. Board of
Education so that the reader can trace its history.

(C) The article may have presented some of the issues black children faced
in segregated schools and how Brown v. Board helped those students.

(D) The article may have talked about how Thurgood Marshall eventually became a
Supreme Court justice because of his role in the case.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7