Altho Topeka saw no direct Civil War action, 3 months after Kansas became a state, Kansas offered 80% of her eligible men to the Union cause, with extremely heavy casualties. But another battle which changed American history happened in Topeka: BROWN VS BOARD OF EDUCATION which in 1954 was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.
Oliver Brown was tired of his 8 year old daughter Linda (pictured above) struggling to make it to her black segregated school which was far from home. If Linda missed the morning bus, it was a 45 minute walk thru some pretty dangerous hoods for such a little girl and Mr Oliver was fed up with it so in 1941 he filed, along with 6 other families, a class action suit against the school board. It took 3 years and the supreme court to finally pass the law that made it unconstitutional to segregate students based on race. Little Linda left her school, Monroe Elementary (see my facebook pix) and transferred to another school close to home.
Almost overnight Linda became a household name across the US but it traumatized her as she got older. Fortunately, the cause was bigger than her fears and she went on to be an activist. In 1978, Linda Brown Smith, with children of her own, was recruited by the NAACP to fight for what looked like another big school segregation battle (does anyone else remember this?). In 1989 the supreme court ruled again that Brown vs. Board of Education must be upheld. Multiple racially integrated new schools, for all students, were built because of that decision. Way to go Linda!!!
It's a short drive to Westport Missouri tomorrow.....that's the hint...... Hope you all enjoy your evening. Hugs from me on the road.
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