LAD #37: Brown v. Board of Education

          The end of the American Civil War brought about great social and political change, or at least during the ensuing decade of southern reconstruction. However, after the compromise of 1877 resulted in the removal of northern forces from the south and the military zones were dissolved, civil rights became a non-issue as most, including several presidents, forgot about, or ignored the plight of southern blacks. This was reflected in the 1896 court case Plessey v. Ferguson in which the supreme court ruled that segregation, or "separate but equal" was legal. This stood until the early 50's, with Brown v. Board of education. After being defeated in Kansas district court, the NAACP brought the case to the supreme court in 1951, combining it with several other cases like it from different states. In 1954, chief justice Earl Warren delivered the supreme court's ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional under the 14th amendment. Although it outlawed "separate but equal" in schools, segregation was still permitted in other public and private places like restaurants and restrooms.