Brown v. Board of Education
Chronology of Historical Milestones In The
Ongoing Journey to Educational Equality

Roberts v. the City of Boston, the first documented school integration case.

Racially segregated schools are banned in Massachusetts by state.

U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott case states African Americans have no legal rights.

U.S. Civil War.

Beginning of the reconstruction era.

13th Constitutional Amendment is ratified, abolishing slavery.

Civil Rights Act passes on April 19, stipulating all persons are entitled to equal legal rights, and authorized federal courts to enforce its provisions when state officials refused to comply.

14th Constitutional Amendment is ratified, conferring citizenship on formerly enslaved people of African descent and bestowing them with equal protection under law.

15th Constitutional Amendment is ratified stating the right to vote can not be abridged on account of race.

Civil Rights Act initially introduced by Senator Charles Sumner in 1870 to secure rights and privileges for African Americans. In practice, it banned racial discrimination on public transportation, public accommodations, restaurants, hotels, theatres, and on grand juries.

End of the reconstruction era.

Tinnon v. Ottawa School Board, the first school integration case in Kansas. From 1881 to 1949, Kansas Supreme Court heard a total of 11 such cases, two of which originated in Topeka.

U.S. Supreme Court decision on five combined Civil Rights cases challenge the Civil Rights Act of 1875, determining the federal government had no power to ban racial discrimination, thus repealing the Act.

U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson gives rise to edict "separate but equal."

Establishment of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP) to address unequal and discriminatory treatment of African Americans.

Charles Hamilton Houston's experience in the military results in the development of legal strategy to end "Jim Crow" laws in the U.S. (In 1935, Houston becomes Director Counsel of the NAACP).

U.S. Supreme Court decision in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada requires the University of Missouri Law School to integrate.

Movement by African Americans who fought World War II, and returned home no longer willing to accept second-class citizenship.

U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sweatt v. Painter requires the University of Texas Law School to integrate.

NAACP organizes school integration cases in Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. During this period, 21 states had laws that either permitted or required segregated schools.

On May 17, the U.S. Supreme Court renders its decision in the combined NAACP school integration cases under the heading of Oliver L. Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka (KS) et al., overturning the "separate but equal" ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson.

The Montgomery, Alabama, Bus Boycott begins, sparking the modern civil rights movement. The boycott started when Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist and member of the NAACP, refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. The Bus Boycott continued for more than a year.

U.S. Supreme Court mandates to integrate schools "with all deliberate speed."

During the 84th Congress, elected representatives from southern states issue the famous "Southern Manifesto" as an official statement of defiance of the Brown decision.

U.S. Supreme Court outlaws segregation on public transportation in Alabama, ending the Bus Boycott.

Defiance of the Brown decision takes hold in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Farmville, Virginia, leading to the closing of some schools for up to 5 years.

Civil Rights Act passes, making discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, etc., illegal in the United States.

Voting Rights Act passes, giving all African Americans the right to vote in elections.

The family of the late Oliver L. Brown establishes the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Research in Topeka.

The Brown Foundation works with Congress to establish the Brown v. Board of Education National Park.

The Brown Foundation works with Congress to establish the Brown v. Board 50th Anniversary Presidential Commission.

50th anniversary of U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education on May 17. Grand Opening of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.