May 17, 1954: Brown v. Board of Education

Thurgood Marshall in front of the Supreme Court Building, 1954

May 17, 1954, 70 years ago: In a unanimous 9-0 vote, the Supreme Court of the United States decides, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation in public schools -- from kindergarten all the way up to State universities -- is unconstitutional.

Hail the wise men:

* Earl Warren, 63, from Oakland, California, the Chief Justice, formerly his State's Governor and Attorney General, and the Republican Party's nominee for Vice President in 1948. Appointed by the current President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican.

* Hugo Black, 68, from from Ashland, Alabama, formerly a Democratic U.S. Senator from his State. His was the most surprising vote of all: Not only was he a Southerner, but a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. Serving on the Court from 1937 until his death in 1971, his decisions seemed to be an effort to make up for his KKK membership. Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat.

* Stanley F. Reed, 69, from Minerva, Kentucky, formerly U.S. Solicitor General under FDR, who appointed him to the Supreme Court. Another Southerner who turned his back on white supremacy.

* Felix Frankfurter, 71, born in Vienna, Austria, but grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He had previously been among the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union, and an adviser to FDR and his Administration. FDR appointed him, as well.

* William O. Douglas, 55, from Yakima, Washington, formerly Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He remains the longest-serving Justice in the Court's history, 36 years from 1939 to 1975. The current longest-serving Justice, Clarence Thomas, would have to serve until late 2027 to surpass him. Another FDR appointee.

* Robert H. Jackson, 62, from Frewsburg, Western New York, formerly U.S. Attorney General and Solicitor General, having succeeded Reed in that latter office. Another FDR appointee.

* Harold H. Burton, 65, from Boston, formerly U.S. Senator from Ohio and Mayor of Cleveland. FDR crossed Party lines to appoint Burton, a Republican, to the Court.

* Thomas C. Clark, 54, from Dallas, another former Attorney General under FDR. Another Southerner voting to strike down segregation. Appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat.

* Sherman Minton, 64, from Georgetown, Indiana, formerly U.S. Senator from his State. Appointed by Truman.

The full name of the case was Oliver Brown et al. v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The named plaintiff, Oliver Brown, was a welder working for a railroad, and an assistant pastor. His daughter, Linda Carol Brown, was in the 3rd grade, and had to walk 6 blocks to her school bus stop to ride to Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, an all-black school, 1 mile away. Sumner Elementary School, all-white, was just 7 blocks away -- 1 block longer than the walk to the bus.

Thurgood Marshall argued the case for the plaintiffs, as the general counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The ruling overturned the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which ruled that "separate but equal" facilities be provided in public places. In Brown v. Board, the Supreme Court ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson decided to make Marshall the 1st black Justice on the Supreme Court. But there was no vacancy. So he decided to create one: He got Nicholas Katzenbach, his Attorney General, to take a post as an Under Secretary of State, and appointed Ramsey Clark to be the new Attorney General. In order to avoid a conflict of interest, Clark's father, Justice Tom Clark, retired.

Oliver Brown died of a heart attack in 1961, only 42 years old. Linda Carol Brown grew up to become a teacher and a civil rights advocate, and lived until 2018. Douglas was the last of the 9 Brown Justices to still be serving, in 1975; while Reed was the last survivor of those Justices, dying in 1980, 74 days after Douglas. Marshall lived until 1993.