As a girl in Kansas, Linda Brown’s father tried to enroll her in an all-white school in Topeka. He and several black families were turned away, sparking Brown vs Board of Education, the case that challenged segregation in US public schools.
A decision by the US Supreme Court followed in 1954, striking down racial segregation in schools and cementing Brown’s place in history as a central figure in the landmark case.
Funeral officials in Topeka said Brown died on Sunday at age 75.
Photo: AP
A cause of death was not released.
Her sister, Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research founding president Cheryl Brown Henderson, confirmed the death to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
She declined comment from the family.
Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) legal arm, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said in a statement that Brown was one of a band of heroic young people who, along with her family, courageously fought to end the ultimate symbol of white supremacy — racial segregation in public schools.
“She stands as an example of how ordinary schoolchildren took center stage in transforming this country. It was not easy for her or her family, but her sacrifice broke barriers and changed the meaning of equality in this country,” Ifill said in a statement.
The fund filed the lawsuit to challenge segregation in public schools before the Supreme Court, and Brown’s father, Oliver Brown, became lead plaintiff.
Several black families in Topeka were turned down when they tried to enroll their children in white schools near their homes. The lawsuit was joined with cases from Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington.
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that separating black and white children was unconstitutional, because it denied black children the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.
“In the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place,” then-US chief justice Earl Warren wrote. “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
“Linda Brown’s life reminds us that by standing up for our principles and serving our communities, we can truly change the world. Linda’s legacy is a crucial part of the American story and continues to inspire the millions who have realized the American dream because of her,” Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer said in a statement.
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