Brown v Board of Education Resource List

We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. This disposition makes unnecessary any discussion whether such segregation also violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Brown v Board of Education (1954)

The following are just a few of the resources that help us interpret the meaning and enduing legacy of Brown v Board and the men, women, and children who made it possible. This is not a definitive list. For more information, visit your favorite library or bookstore.

Documents
Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954, www.ourdocuments.gov. Select from the “100 Milestone Documents” list. (Our Documents initiative is a cooperative effort among National History Day, The National Archives and Records Administration, and USA Freedom Corps).

Plessy v Ferguson, 1896, www.ourdocuments.gov. Select from the “100 Milestone Documents” list.

New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration, http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/Green

United States District Court E.D. Virginia at Richmond, Davis et.al. v County School Board of Prince Edward County, Virginia, et.al. http://www.brownat50.org/brownCases/BrownCasesFrameset.html

Supreme Court of the United States, Griffin v County School Board of Prince Edward County (Va.), http://www.brownat50.org/brownCases/BrownCasesFrameset.html

Virginia Responds http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whoweare/exhibits/brown/index.htm

Books
All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on the First Half-Century of Brown v Board of Education by
Charles J. Ogletree

Brown v Board of Education: A Brief History with Documents by Waldo E. Martin, Jr.

Brown v Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and its Troubled Legacy by James Patterson

Brown v. Board of Education (1954): School Desegregation by Mark E. Dudley

Groundwork: Charles Hamilton Houston and the Struggle for Civil Rights by Genna Rae McNeil

Silent Trumpets of Justice: Integration's Failure in Prince Edward County by Vonita W. Foster and Gerald A. Foster

Simple Justice: The History of Brown v Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality by Richard Kluger

Standing Before the Shouting Mob: Lenoir Chambers and Virginia’s Massive Resistance to Public School Integration by Alex Leidholt

They Closed Our Schools by Robert Smith

Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary by Juan Williams

Virginia’s Massive Resistance by Benjamin Muse

Wit, Wills, and Walls by Betty Fisher

For Younger Readers
Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone: The Brown v Board of Education Decision, edited by Joyce Carol Thomas. Of special interest to students in grades 4-8.

Remember: The Journey to School Desegregation by Toni Morrison. Ms. Morrison has collected a treasure chest of 50 archival photographs that depict the historical events surrounding school desegregation. Of special interest to students in grades 4-8.

Brown v Board: School Desegregation by Mark E. Dudley. Of special interest to students in grades 6-10.

Media
The Road to Brown, California Newsreel

The American Experience. Simple Justice, PBS Video

The Brown Decision in Norfolk, VA. http://www.littlejohnexplorers.com/jeff/brown/index.htm

A Profile of Moton High School Student Barbara Johns,
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_johns.html

Separate But Unequal: How a Student-Led Protest Helped Change the Nation, http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1894713.html

African-American Heritage Program in Virginia
http://www.AAHeritageVA.org

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy (VFH) was established in September 1974, as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the humanities and to using the humanities to address issues of broad public concern.

In all of its programs, the VFH works to make scholarship accessible; to promote thoughtful discussions of enduring and contemporary issues; and to broaden the range of educational opportunities available to all citizens, both in Virginia and nationwide. Central to our work is the belief that "Ideas Matter:" that – to paraphrase Jefferson – a broadly educated and informed citizenry is the bulwark of a sustainable democracy.
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