NAACP Marks 50th Anniversary of Brown Decision With Year-long Celebration

Crisis, The, Mar/Apr 2004 by Petrie, Phil W

May 17th will mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark U. S. Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education. The 1954 Brown decision ended legal segregation in American public schools by overturning the doctrine of separate but equal. In commemoration of the historic Brown decision, the NAACP, in conjunction with its National Board of Education Equity Commission, which consists of more than 50 national organizations, has launched a year-long celebration honoring those who participated in the case.

"We decided to hold a series of commemorative programs in celebration of Brown where things took place, where cases were actually litigated," says John Jackson, director of the NAACP Education department. "If we are going to commemorate the Brown decision, we thought it was best to go back to the original sites, energize units and individuals to continue the work of Brown."

The Brown case was actually five cases from four states - Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia - and the District of Columbia, combined into one. The NAACP will cohost public forums and workshops in each of the four states that comprised Brown v. Board of Education. Other organizations and associations will hold commemorative events as well in cities such as Philadelphia and New York City.

Events have already taken place in Columbia, S.C., at Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Term., and at Stetson University, College of Law in Gulfport, FIa. On Feb. 20, the NAACP honored judge Robert Carter, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York during its board/trustees dinner. As a former NAACP general counsel, Cartelserved on the Brown legal team, arguing the Topeka, Kan., case and coming up with the NAACP's legal strategy.

In March, there will be a forum at the University of Kansas and in Frederick, Md., on the legacies of Brown and the future of education for minority children. The following month, the commemoration will continue with events in California, Delaware and Michigan.

In tribute to protesting students at Robert R. Moton High School in Prince Edward County, Va. - which became part of Brown after students organized a strike in 1951 against the school's inferior conditions - the NAACP will hold a student caucus April 23-24 in Richmond, Va.

The current state of education will be discussed at the NAACP's National Education Summit of the States, which will be held May 14-17 in Topeka, Kan., the hometown of Linda Brown, whose family was one of 13 recruited by the NAACP to integrate White schools in their neighborhood.

On May 17, the day the Supreme Court decision was handed down, a Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commemorative Gala will be held in Washington, D.C., to honor the individuals and institutions that played an important role in Brown. The event will be hosted by the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Howard University.

The commemoration activities, says NAACP Chairman of the Board julian Bond, give the community an "opportunity to analyze past, present and future strategies to address the persistent racial disparities and inequities that exist in the American educational system."

The NAACP will continue to celebrate the Brown decision with events into the fall. Please see the listing below for specific activities.

- Phil W. Petrie