Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Supreme Court of the United States · 1954
Good law
Headnote
Held that racial segregation of public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, overruling Plessy v. Ferguson in the field of public education.
Bench
Warren, C.J., for a unanimous Court
Facts
Consolidated challenges by Black schoolchildren denied admission to white public schools under state segregation laws.
Held
Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal; segregation deprives minority children of equal protection.
Key passage
“We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
347 U.S. 483, 495
Citation formats
Bluebook
Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 347 U.S. 483, 495 (1954).
Short form
Brown, 347 U.S. at 495.
Id. form
Id. at 495.
Authorities considered
- Plessy v. Ferguson
163 U.S. 537 (1896)
- Sweatt v. Painter
339 U.S. 629 (1950)