Linda Brown

Who Was Linda Brown?

Linda Brown was born in February 1942 in Topeka, Kansas. Due to the racial segregation of schools, she was required to travel a considerable distance to attend elementary school. Her father, Oliver Brown, became one of the plaintiffs in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, which culminated in the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared school segregation unconstitutional. Throughout her adult life in Topeka, Brown continued to advocate for desegregation in the local school system while raising her family. She passed away on March 25, 2018, at the age of 76.

Early Life and Historic Case

Linda Brown was born on February 20, 1943, to Leola and Oliver Brown in Topeka, Kansas. Growing up in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, she faced significant challenges due to the prevailing system of racial segregation. Despite living just four blocks away from an elementary school, she was compelled to walk across railroad tracks and take a bus to reach her designated school.

In 1950, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) approached a group of African American parents, including Oliver Brown, to enroll their children in all-white schools, anticipating that they would be denied admission. At that time, Linda was in third grade and was refused enrollment at Sumner Elementary School, which was the nearest school to her home. This strategic move aimed to provide a basis for a lawsuit, with 13 families representing different states.

Due to the alphabetical order of the plaintiffs, the case became known as Brown v. Board of Education and eventually reached the Supreme Court. The case was led by Thurgood Marshall, who later became a Supreme Court Justice and played a pivotal role in the fight for civil rights.

Winning Brown v. Board of Education

A primary objective of the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education was to overturn the precedent established by the 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the doctrine of “separate but equal” in public facilities based on race. In 1954, this goal was realized when the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, effectively disavowing the concept of “separate but equal.” The Court concluded that segregated educational facilities deprived African American children of a richer and fairer educational experience, thus paving the way for desegregation across the United States.

Life After the Historic Case

At the time of the ruling, Linda Brown was in junior high school, a level that had already begun to integrate prior to the Supreme Court’s decision. In 1959, her family relocated to Springfield, Missouri. Tragically, her father, Oliver Brown, passed away two years later, prompting her mother to return with her daughters to Topeka. Linda later attended Washburn University and Kansas State University, during which she built a family. Her personal life included navigating through a divorce and becoming a widow after the death of her second husband. In the mid-1990s, she married William Thompson and became active in the speaker circuit, working as an educational consultant.

By the late 1970s, Brown expressed feelings of being exploited due to the overwhelming media attention surrounding her case, highlighting the lack of recognition of her humanity beyond her role as a historical figure. Nevertheless, she remained committed to advocating against segregation. In 1979, she collaborated with the American Civil Liberties Union to revisit the Topeka case, asserting that the local school district had failed to fully desegregate its schools. Ultimately, the Court of Appeals ruled in 1993 that racial divisions persisted within the school system, leading to the construction of three new schools as part of ongoing integration efforts.

Death

Linda Brown passed away in her lifelong hometown of Topeka on March 25, 2018. Although her family chose not to comment publicly, Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer honored her legacy by acknowledging her role in one of the most significant cases in American history. “Sixty-four years ago, a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America,” he tweeted. “Linda Brown’s life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact, and that by serving our community, we can truly change the world.”