Charlene Reed-Mundell LEECA Workshop   Begin by reviewing a timeline of school desegregation in the United States. Half a century ago, in May 1954, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling in the area of school segregation. Known as Brown v. Board of Education, the ruling changed American schools forever. Before Brown v. Board of Education, the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) reigned for many years as the law of the land on segregated facilities. The sad story of how `separate but equal' was born. By: Medley, Keith Weldon. Smithsonian, Feb94, Vol. 24 Issue 11, p104, 14p, 5c, 5bw; Reading Level (Lexile): 1160; (AN 9401317541) Segregation of elementary schools in Topeka, Kansas was ruled legal until the Supreme Court made its famous 1954 ruling. Look up Brown v. Board of Education   Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans. Columbia Encyclopedia; (AN IXBBrownvBo) In 1954, the Supreme Court was headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, who lived from 1891-1974. Go to American National Biography (www.infohio.org) to read about Earl Warren. Another major figure in Brown was Thurgood Marshall, who later would serve on the Supreme Court. Memorable PHOTOS FROM THE EBONY FILES. Ebony, Dec2003, Vol. 59 Issue 2, p186, 1p, 1bw; Reading Level (Lexile): 980; (AN 11265595) Thurgood Marshall. Political & World Leaders: Cold War, 2002, p35, 2p; Reading Level (Lexile): 1260; (AN 5651001) Thurgood Marshall: The brain of the civil rights movement. (cover story) By: Cohen, Adam. Time, 06/14/99, Vol. 153 Issue 23, p172, 1p, 1bw; Reading Level (Lexile): 1160; (AN 1908279) Recognizing the huge change Brown v. Board of Education would bring about, the Supreme Court ruled that changes should be made "with all deliberate speed." This meant they did not set a deadline for schools to be desegregated, but rather encouraged school districts to move as quickly as possible. Look at a draft copy of a court decision with pencil changes. The court would later realize that "all deliberate speed" provided room for boards of education to delay action. Among cities that were very slow to change was Boston, Massachusetts. When it was forced to desegregate its schools in the 1970s, Boston was the site of much conflict. Listen to a 1978 public television report on Boston's experience. Unlike Boston, Little Rock, Arkansas made plans to desegregate its high school. In the fall of 1957, nine students were selected to enter all-white Central High School. Check out this web site that tells about the Little Rock 9. Read more about Little Rock, a turning point for America. What were the roles of Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and President Dwight Eisenhower? Read a 1957 statement by President Eisenhower on the developments at Central High School. Statement on the developments at Little Rock.; By: Eisenhower, Dwight; Essential Documents in American History, Essential Documents, 1492-Present, p1, 1p, Reading Level (Lexile): 1010 More than four decades later, former Arkansas governor and now President Bill Clinton designated Central High School a National Historic Site. Read the White House press release. Teachers, check here for teaching resources about the Little Rock 9. Of course, Brown v. Board of Education affected the entire country. The case that brought about desegregation of Cleveland's schools was named Reed v. Rhodes. Read about the Cleveland experience. The Cleveland experience. Like other areas of civil rights, school segregation produced martyrs. (Check an online or print dictionary if you are unsure of this word.) In Cleveland, the Rev. Bruce Klunder believed in the cause enough to put his life in danger. Read what happened. School desegregation was a major piece of the fight for civil rights in America. Where are we 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education? Consider these opinions as well as what you have read, and decide for yourself. 50 YEARS AFTER BROWN. (cover story) U.S. News & World Report, 3/22/2004, Vol. 136 Issue 10, p64, 2p, 1bw; Reading Level (Lexile): 850; (AN 12522698) Desegregation's Broken Promises.; By: Carnahan, Ira; Forbes, 11/10/2003, Vol. 172 Issue 10, p114, 3p, 1 chart, 3bw, Reading Level (Lexile): 1150 ADDTIONAL RESOURCES "And the children shall lead" [videorecording]. Salt Lake City, UT: All Things Family, 2003. Brandt, Keith. Rosa Parks: Fight for freedom [sound recording]. Mahwah, NJ: Troll Associates, 1994. Bush, Karen. Thurgood Marshall: A photo-illustrated biography. Mankato, MN: Bridgestone Books, 2002. ISBN 0736811133 Carawan, Guy. We shall overcome! Songs of the southern freedom movement. NY: Oak Publications, 1963. David, Andrew. Famous Supreme Court Cases. Minneapolis: Lerner Pub. Co., 1980. ISBN 0822514265 Dudley, Mark E. Brown v. Board of Education (1954): School desegregation. NY: Twenty-first Century Books, 1994. ISBN 0805036571 Engelbert, Phillis (compiler). American civil rights: Primary sources. Edited by Betz Des Chenes. Detroit: U.X.L.: 1999. ISBN 0787631701 Fireside, Harvey and Sarah Betsy Fuller. Brown v. Board of Education: Equal schooling for all. Hillside, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2994. ISBN 0894904698 Good, Diane I. Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil rights milestone. Children's Press, 2004. ISBN 0516242253 Gray, Fred D. Bus ride to justice. Montgomery, AL: Black Belt Press, 1995. ISBN 1881320235 Haskins, Jim. Separate but not equal: The Dream and the struggle. NY: Scholastic, 1998. ISBN 05904459104 Koestler, Rachel A. Going to school during the Civil Rights movement. Mankato, MN: Blue Earth Books, 2002. ISBN 0736807993 Landau, Elaine. The Civil Rights movement in America, 1954-1968. NY: Children's Press, 2003. ISBN 0516242199 Levine, Ellen. Freedom's children: Young Civil Rights activists tell their own stories. NY: Avon Books, 1994. ISBN 0380721147 Lusane, Clarence. The Struggle for equal education. NY: F.Watts, 1992. ISBN 0531111210 Ogletree, Charles J., Jr. All deliberate speed: Reflections on the first half-century of Brown v. Board of Education. NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. ISBN 0393058972 O'Neill, Laurie A. Little Rock: the Desegregation of Central High. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 1994. ISBN 1562943545 Randall, Herbert. Faces of freedom summer. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001. ISBN 0817310568 Somerlott, Robert. The Little Rock school desegregation crisis in American history. Berkeley Hts, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0766012980 Tackach, James. Brown v. Board of Education. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1998. ISBN 1560062738 Thomas, Joyce Carol, ed. Linda Brown, you are not alone: the Brown v. Board of Education decision. NY: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, 2003. ISBN 0786808217 Wiles, Debbie. Freedom Summer. NY: Atheneum Books for Young Children, 2001. ISBN 0689830165 Wilson, Paul E. A Time to lose: Representing Kansas in Brown v. Board of Education. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 1995. ISBN 0700607099