Brown v Board of Education of Topeka
347 U.S. 483 (1954) · Supreme Court of the United States · Decision date: 1954-05-17
Key issue
Whether state-imposed racial segregation in public schools violates equal protection.
Facts
Children challenged exclusion from public schools on the basis of race. Several cases were considered together.
Holding
The Court held that racial segregation in public education denied equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Equality of physical facilities did not resolve the constitutional harm.
Pinpoints
Opinion reproduced in the National Archives transcript; distinguish the 1954 decision from the later implementation decision.
Verification status
Source checked
Source note
Original TLG paraphrase of the archived decision.
Current treatment
Historical decision record. Later judgments, appeals and legislative changes have not been exhaustively checked. Consult the judgment and current law before relying on this note.