Brown v. Board trial -- US Federal Courthouse, Topeka KS
N 39° 03.202 W 095° 40.341
15S E 268753 N 4326098
A young plaintiff's lawyer named Thurgood Marshall argued the historic Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation case in the ornate courtroom on the top floor here in 1952.
Waymark Code: WMGTZT
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 04/10/2013
Views: 3
When Oliver Brown tried to enroll his daughter Ruby in his local school a few blocks from his house, he was turned away and told to register her at another school far across town.
The reason: Sumner Grade School was reserved for white students, and little Ruby Brown was black.
Brown joined five other black families who tried to enroll their children in their (white) neighborhood schools in a lawsuit brought on their behalf by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Their lawyer was Thurgood Marshall, then the head of the NAACP's legal branch.
What would become the landmark federal case Brown v. Board of Education was quietly filed in this courthouse on 28 Feb 1951.
From a pay newspaper archive site (which we are a member of), we have transcribed this surprisingly short news story:
"Hutchinson (KS) News Herald 01 Mar 1951 pg 51 col 2
Topeka Negroes Attack Segregation Laws
Topeka (AP) – Attorneys for five Negro families asked the federal court for a declaratory judgment nullifying a Kansas law permitting operation of separate grade schools for Negro children.
The suit also asks that Topeka School officials be permanently enjoined from maintaining separate schools for Negroes.
The petitioners termed the Kansas law unconstitutional and “an unlawful delegation of legislative power.”
Named defendants were the Topeka board of education, Kenneth MacFarland, superintendent of schools, and Frank Wilson, principal of Sumner Grade School.
The plaintiffs alleged they sought to enroll their children in schools in their own districts and were refused.
The complaint set out that the Negro children have to travel extra distances because of the law and are not provided educational opportunities equal to those available for white children." [end]
A special three-judge panel heard the petition, and handed down their ruling on 4 Aug 1951 in the courtroom on the upper floor of this building. From the same paid newspaper archive, this story:
"Hutchinson KS News Herald 4 Aug 1951 pg 7 col 3
Upholds Segregation
Topeka (AP) – A three-judge Federal court Friday unanimously upheld the secgregation of white and Negro students in Topeka’s grade schools. It concluded that there was “no willful, intentional, or substantial discrimination” in the manner in which the schools are operated." [end]
But Marshall and the petitioners were not dissuaded by this setback. They appealed to the US Supreme Court, which revered the lower courts and rules that "separate but equal is inherently unequal."
Segregation in public schools on the basis of race was dead. That fight for civil rights started here, on the corner of SW 5th St and Kansas Ave., in Topeka.
Type of publication: Newspaper
When was the article reported?: 03/01/1951
Publication: Hutchinson KS News Herald
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: yes
How widespread was the article reported?: national
News Category: Politics
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