Brown v. Board of Education NHP
As I was researching things to do during our journey between Boulder and Chicago, I learned about Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka, Kansas. Fortunately, it was easy to change our plans to spend a night in Topeka so that we could visit the park the next morning.
Brown v. Board NHP is housed in the former Monroe Elementary School, one of Topeka’s historically segregated African American schools. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court heard five cases that were bundled together, all challenging segregation in schools. The Court’s historic decision was that it was unconstitutional to have separate educational facilities based on race.
We saw exhibits covering the events leading up to the five cases, the momentous decision, and the turbulent aftermath. In one recorded interview, a woman described walking to school while white students in buses opened their windows and spat on them. There was a room with video walls where we were surrounded by an angry white mob protesting the decision. It was sobering, and visceral.
I am awed by the courage of the students and parents who were willing to stand up and fight for dignity and equal opportunity. I admire the vision and tenacity of Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP attorneys who worked on the cases. Last month marked the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board. We have come a long way since the days of racial segregation, but there is still far too much racial injustice today. We as a nation still have a lot of work to do.
