User:Arinorfleet/oliverbrown

Oliver L. Brown was a parent and the lead plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court Case Brown v. Board of Education of 1954. The Supreme Court overturned the separate but equal doctrine, which led to the desegregation of schools in America. Oliver L. Brown's name is attached to one of the most pivotal events in the U.S. civil rights history.

Early Life
Oliver L. Brown was born on August 2, 1918 in Topeka, Kansas. He was the youngest of ten children in the Brown family.His parents worked very hard to provide for their growing family. Oliver's mother was a domestic worker who cooked, cleaned and ironed for several houses in the community. His father first worked for the Topeka Transport Company and then he finally worked as a custodian for the Santa Fe Railroad. Oliver and his siblings attended the then segregated Buchanan Elementary School. While attending school Oliver met his future wife Leola Williams. Oliver and Leola were married in 1939. During this time Oliver worked as a shop welder for the Santa Fe railroad. In 1944 Oliver and his wife had their first daughter named Linda, and in 1947 they welcomed their second daughter Terry. In 1940 Oliver began to study ministry. He enrolled in theology courses and completed his study at the Bible College of Chicago. In 1950 the Brown's had their third daughter Cheryl. A year later Oliver became and ordained and officially became a Minister for the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Civil Rights Movement
In 1950 Oliver attempted to enroll his daughter Linda, at Sumner Elementary School. Sumner Elementary was a white school located near his home. At this time Linda, was attending Monroe Elementary School. It took a five mile bus ride and long walk to reach the school. Oliver's attempt to enroll his daughter failed along with many other parents. That same year Charles Scott, a friend of Oliver, approached him about joining NAACP challenge to segregated public schools. Oliver agreed to become the lead plaintiff for the NAACP class action suit. Oliver and 12 other parents in Topeka filed a suit on behalf of 20 African American children who were denied the access to white schools. Parents who filed the action suit included Vivian Scales, Lucinda Todd, Shirley Fleming and Zelma Henderson. In 1961, Oliver Brown passed away 10 years after the suit was filed. He died before he was able to see the affect he had on school systems in the United States.

The Case
In 1952 the Supreme Court decided to hear the Brown v. Board of Education in June of 1952. Deciding the case was difficult from the beginning. Differing social philosophies and temperaments divided the 9 justices. However, the Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the decision for the Court. Warren said "Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law, for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group...Any language in contrary to this finding is rejected. We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal". The Court ruling declared that the segregation of schools denied black children equal education opportunities.