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plaintiff named Oliver Brown sues Board of Education
plaintiff named Oliver Brown filed a class-action suit against the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in 1951, after his daughter, Linda Brown, was denied entrance to Topeka’s all-white elementary schools. -
John W. Davis defends segregation
John W. Davis, one of the most prominent appellate advocates in the nation, agrees to defend segregated schools in the Supreme Court. -
NAACP supports Brown
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund files an appeal of the Brown decision in the United States Supreme Court. In the weeks that follow, appeals in other cases around the country challenging segregated schools are also filed in the Court. -
Case goes to supreme court
When Brown’s case and four other cases related to school segregation first came before the Supreme Court in 1952, the Court combined them into a single case under the name Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. -
Brown v. Board of Education goes to supreme court
1952 Brown v. Board of Education is first filed with the U.S. Supreme Court -
Re-argument
The Supreme Court orders all five cases to be reargued in the 1953 Term. -
Court combines Brown with other cases
Just three days before scheduled argument in Brown, the Court reschedules argument for December, and announces the Brown case will be combined with cases from South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington D.C. -
Thurgood Marshall vs Robert carter
In the Court's packed chambers, Robert Carter argued that the Topeka policy denied Brown the equal protection of the laws. Paul E. Wilson, assistant attorney general for Kansas, defended the Topeka policy. Later, other lawyers, including Thurgood Marshall for the NAACP and John W. Davis for the State of Virginia, would take their turns at the podium as the challenges from the other consolidated cases were argued. Davis predicts he has the case won, "five to four--or maybe six to three." -
Supreme courts make initial votes
The Supreme Court meets in conference to discuss the school segregation cases. Initial votes in the cases show four clear votes for ending segregation in all cases, and up to four for upholding the policy of segregation, and one justice willing to strike down segregation in Washington D.C., but uphold it in the other cases. -
Cheif Justice Fred Vinson dies
Chief Justice Fred Vinson, one of the four justices who voted to uphold segregation, dies of a heart attack. President Eisenhower soon appoints Earl Warren to take Vinson's place. -
Supreme Courts decision
A unanimous Supreme Court issues its decision in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka. The Court finds that segregation in the public schools is "inherently unequal" and violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. -
States disagree on supreme courts decision.
Several states refuse to implement the decision. Many even consider it, -
Supreme courts implement decision
The Supreme Court hears oral arguments concerning how its Brown decision should be implemented. -
Topeka desegregates schools
All Topeka elementary schools are desegregated, with enrollment eligibility determined by attendance zones. Unlike in some other cities, no significant demonstrations or violence accompanied the desegregation of the Topeka schools.