History Fact Finder | Culture and Recreation - When Were Schools In The United States Desegregated?

When were schools in the United States desegregated?

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation (separation of people according to race) in public schools is unconstitutional (violates laws stated in the U.S. Constitution). This decision overturned the long-standing "separate but equal" doctrine laid down in 1896 by the case of Plessy v. Fergusson, which had encouraged segregation in certain areas of the country. For example, in 1908 the Supreme Court ruled in Berea College v. Kentucky that a state could forbid a private or public college from admitting both whites and blacks at the same time. This concept was extended into laws that influenced all aspects of public life. The Brown v. Board of Education ruling started a tumultuous era of integration (merging of blacks with whites) and...

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