Case Law Index
federal1954
Additional Highlights:Equal ProtectionFourteenth AmendmentCivil Rights
Brown v. Board of Education
United States Supreme Court
Key Holding
Racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, overruling the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson.
Case Summary
Brown v. Board of Education is one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions in American history, unanimously holding that state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.