Black history month: focus on landmark school desegregation case spurs blacks to continue pursuit of quality education, civil rights

With the theme "Before Brown/ Beyond Boundaries: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education," this year's Black History Month honored the landmark lawsuit that permanently dismantled segregation in public schools and deteriorated Jim Crow laws.

Across the country, people used this month to reflect on the case's impact and engage in discussions about modern-day race relations that could extend well beyond February.

It was 50 years ago, on May 17, 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided segregation in public schools was illegal. The Court agreed the "separate but equal" legal doctrine upheld in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case was unconstitutional. The late Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court judge, argued the case.

The lawsuit, named for the late Oliver Brown of Topeka, KS, father of Linda Brown Thompson, actually comprised four other legal cases battling segregation in schools.

At a recent program held at Purdue University in Indiana, Thompson explained the conditions that compelled her father and other Black parents to fight for their children's quality education decades ago.

"I can still remember starting that bitter walk and the terrible cold that would cause my tears to freeze upon my face," she said. "I had to cross a very busy avenue in order to catch the school bus that would carry me some 2 miles across town to the all-Black Monroe Public School. These were the circumstances that so angered Black parents."

A half-century later, America still has much work to do, says Sylvia Cyrus-Albritton, executive director of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). The organization coordinates the theme for the annual Black History Month celebration.

"Even after the decision there was legal action to immediately over-throw it," Cyrus-Albritton says regarding Virginia's reaction to close its public schools rather than integrate. "We have been fighting that erosion since then."

Cyrus-Albritton believes that true appreciation of the Brown case requires Blacks to relentlessly pursue an education, especially in the area of knowing our own history.

"We can go beyond the traditional 'put-up-some-posters' and 'play-the-I-Have-A-Dream-speech,'" says Cyrus-Albritton. "Black History Month is bigger than that."

Cyrus-Albritton suggests several year-round celebration tips to parents, schools, churches and communities-at-large.

"Share and talk about the history of African-Americans with your family," Cyrus-Albritton says. She recommends interviewing senior family members to compile an oral family history. She also suggests you collaborate with your local librarians to compile an African-American chronicle of your neighborhood.

Parents are encouraged to be especially proactive. "Ask children to read special books on Black history," Cyrus-Albritton says. "Then have a child do a report on Black history and inventors." She also notes, "Parents should make sure Black History is included in their children's curricula."

The church can also get involved. Members of the clergy can include quotes from notable African-Americans in sermons. Also, "Churches can celebrate by planning programs every month," Cyrus-Albritton says.

Lastly, perhaps the most meaningful thing we can do to commemorate our heritage year-round is to not stop at the conventionally celebrated Black achievers, Cyrus Albritton says. "We know who Rosa Parks is and who Martin Luther King is, and that is important, but there are thousands of African-Americans who have made contributions to this country. Don't stop at the Top 10."