Brown v. Board of Education

Definition

A landmark Supreme Court case in 1954 that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.

Related terms

Segregation: The enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment.

Civil Rights Movement: A struggle by African Americans in the mid-1950s to late 1960s to achieve civil rights equal to those of whites, including equal opportunity in employment, housing, and education.

Equal Protection Clause: Part of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution providing that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction 'the equal protection of the laws.'