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Honoring Linda Brown, The Inspiration Behind Brown V. Board

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6 years ago

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Linda Brown sitting alone at a table, Brown V. Board, Brown V. Board of Education, black and white

Linda Brown was only 9 years old when her father, Oliver Brown, attempted to enroll her at Sumner Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas. The school blocked her enrollment. Why? Because Sumner was was an all-white school back in 1951. Mr. Brown was not having it. He sued the Topeka Board of Education. Thus, Brown V.  Board of Education was born. 

In May 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”  Thurgood Marshall argued the case before the Supreme Court. The ruling overturned Plessy V. Ferguson, the ruling that birthed “separate but equal.” In 1955, and for decades to come, desegregation of schools became the law of the land, although it still has not be fully achieved.  

Linda Brown, the inspiration behind Brown V. Board, passed away at the age of 75 this past Sunday in Topeka, Kansas. 

 

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Although she will forever be remembered for the landmark civil rights case, Linda has a separate legacy she left behind in her community.  She is remembered by Carolyn Campbell, a longtime friend of Linda, as a “very quiet person, but spiritual, patient and very kind.” Campbell continued to say, “Linda was a spiritual Christian woman that loved not only the Lord, but she loved her family and took on the responsibility of what Brown V. Board of Education meant to her.  

Social media remembered Linda Brown as an icon, a hero, and proof that #BlackGirlMagic is nothing new. 

 

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