Which case overturned the 'separate but equal' doctrine in public education?

• A. Plessy v. Ferguson
• B. Dred Scott v. Sand
• C. Brown v. Board of Education
• D. Reynolds v. Sims

Answer: (C)

Brown v. Board of Education shows that separating students by race in public schools is unconstitutional because it inherently creates inequality. Before this decision, the standard was that facilities could be separate as long as they were equal, a rule from Plessy v. Ferguson. But Brown found that even with supposedly equal facilities, segregation sends a message of inferiority and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This ruling directly challenges and overturns the idea that segregation in education could be legal simply by claiming equality. The other cases listed don’t address schooling in this way: Dred Scott v. Sandford dealt with citizenship and slavery before the Civil War, Reynolds v. Sims handled voting district apportionment, and Plessy v. Ferguson was the one that established the separate-but-equal doctrine.