TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) As a girl in Kansas, Linda Browns father tried to enroll her in an all-white school in Topeka. He and several black families were turned away, sparking the Brown v. Board of Education case that challenged segregation in public schools.
A 1954 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court followed, striking down racial segregation in schools and cementing Linda Browns place in history as a central figure in the landmark case.
Funeral officials in Topeka said Brown died Sunday at age 75. A cause of death was not released. Arrangements were pending at Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel.
Her sister, Cheryl Brown Henderson, founding president of The Brown Foundation, confirmed the death to The Topeka Capital-Journal. She declined comment from the family.
Sherrilyn If-ill, president and directorcounsel at NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., said in a statement that Linda Brown is one of a band of heroic young people who, along with her family, courageously fought to end the ultimate symbol of white supremacy racial segregation in public schools.
She stands as an example of how ordinary schoolchildren took center stage in transforming this country. It was not easy for her or her family, but her sacrifice broke barriers and changed the meaning of equality in this country, Ifill said in a statement.
The NAACPs legal arm brought the lawsuit to challenge segregation in public schools before the Supreme Court, and Browns father, Oliver Brown, became lead plaintiff.
Several black families in Topeka were turned down when they tried to enroll their children in white schools near their homes. The lawsuit was joined with cases from Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that separating black and white children was unconstitutional because it denied black children the 14th Amendments guarantee of equal protection under the law. In the field of public education, the doctrine of separate but equal has no place, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
The Brown decision overturned the courts Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which on May 18, 1896, established a separate but equal doctrine for blacks in public facilities.
