Origin

Nearly all the schools around the country were segregated. Many black children had to walk all the way across town to go to school. Linda Brown was one of these children. Her father and many other children's parents were upset with this, since there were white schools just a few blocks away that the children would go to. The tried to enroll their children there, but the schools refused to admit them. The parents complained to the courts and took their dilemma to the NAACP. The NAACP decided to get involved in this and represented them when the case went to the Supreme Court. 

Arguments of the case

Brown- the parents of the children

• Just because the learning environments are equal doesn't mean both races of children are getting the same education.
• For everyone to 'equal', black and white students should go to the same school and have the same job opportunities.
• When the two races are separated, it gives the appearance of one race (namely, blacks) being inferior to the other race even though the accommodations may be the same.

Board of Education- Topeka school board

• As long as the learning facilities in each school are equal then the two races were equal and equally protected under the law.
• the 'separate but equal' doctrine was declared constitutional.
• The 14th amendment says that people have to be treated equally, not that people should be treated the same. 

Supreme Court's Decision

The court had a unanimous decision and declared that the 'separate but equal' doctrine established by the Plessy v. Furguson case had no place in public education. It didn't abolish segregation in other public places, but it did declare the mandatory segregation unconstitutional. There was more to this case than meets the eye. The decision of this case wouldn't just apply to public schools, but it also applied to segregation in general and whether it violated the 14th amendment. The court knew this.