Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site

Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site commemorates the landmark Supreme Court Decision that struck down state laws establishing "separate but equal" public schools for black and white students.   Monroe Elementary School houses the park visitor center.   It was one of four segregated elementary schools for blacks in Topeka, Kansas.

The unanimous decision handed down on May 17, 1954 was one of the most significant in U.S. history, reaffirming the 14th Amendment.   There were actually five cases that were consolidated as Brown v. Board of Education, and they were deliberately drawn from different areas of the country:
    (1) Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka, Kansas)
    (2) Belton v. Gebbert (Massachusetts)
    (3) Bolling v. Sharp (D.C.)
    (4) Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County (Virginia)
    (5) Briggs v. Elliot (South Carolina).


Gram and Pops visited here in August 2010.


Click here for pictures of Gram and Pops' Trip