On this day in 1954, 57 years ago, the United States Supreme Court transformed America in a way never matched by any other decision of the entire 20th century!
The Court unanimously declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional in Brown V. Board Of Education Of Topeka, Kansas, a decision that ushered in the civil rights movement, not only in education, but in all areas of American society.
How far we have come, to the point that we have a black President, and have seen the successes of integration in American society to the point that there are many mixed race couples and children, and most Americans don’t even bat an eyelash at the changes that have come about.
Sure, there are still people in America who are racist, and that is true of all races. But the country is much better off for the courage of Chief Justice Earl Warren, who convinced the Justices of the Court of the absolute need for unanimity on the decision, and Associate Justice Hugo Black, who overcame his earlier Ku Klux Klan membership, to do the RIGHT THING!
It is hard to imagine a scenario whereby this decision had not come about, and to believe it possible that segregation would still be the law of the land.
This Brown decision is an example of the best that the Supreme Court has brought us in its 222 plus years of its history, and this is a moment to salute the Court and America for the wonderful event that occurred in 1954, and which we celebrate today!
