Which landmark Supreme Court case led toward desegregation of public schools?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education
• B. Plessy v Ferguson
• C. Dred Scott v Sanford
• D. Roe v Wade

Answer: (A)

Desegregation of public schools hinges on recognizing that separate facilities are inherently unequal, and the landmark case that moved this forward is Brown v. Board of Education. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that state laws establishing separate schools for Black and white students violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because segregation itself harms education and creates a sense of inferiority. This decision overturned the earlier precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson, which had allowed “separate but equal” facilities. While Brown targeted public education in Topeka, Kansas, its reasoning applied nationwide and signaled the end of legal support for segregation in schools, with Brown II in 1955 urging desegregation to proceed with all deliberate speed. The other options don’t fit: Plessy v. Ferguson upheld segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine; Dred Scott v. Sanford dealt with citizenship and federal rights of Black people before the Civil War; Roe v. Wade addressed abortion rights.