What is the holding of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

• A. Separate but equal is inherently unequal, and racial segregation of public schools is unconstitutional.
• B. Segregated schools are permissible if facilities are equal.
• C. The decision applied only to higher education.
• D. It allowed segregation in some circumstances.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that separating students by race in public schools is unconstitutional because segregation itself is inherently unequal and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Court rejected the earlier Plessy v. Ferguson notion of “separate but equal” as applied to education, holding that state-imposed racial segregation in public schools deprives students of equal protection and sends a message of inferiority that undermines the educational process. This ruling applies to public education broadly, not just to one level or type of schooling, and it set the stage for desegregation, which the Court later addressed further in Brown II by directing that desegregation occur with all deliberate speed.