Dick Durbin: “62 years ago today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which struck down laws…”

“62 years ago today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which struck down laws permitting racially segregated schools in 17 States and the District of Columbia. The Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, the notorious 1896 decision that found racially segregated schools could be, ``separate but equal.'' The Court unanimously held that laws requiring racial segregation in schools violate the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment and recognized that equal access to education is a fundamental civil right. In the Brown v. Board opinion, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote, ``in the field of public education, the doctrine of `separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.'' As I have said before, this historic decision was the most important Supreme Court decision of the 20th century--and perhaps of all time. Shortly after the decision, the New York Times published an editorial that stated: ``The Supreme Court's historic decision in the school desegregation cases brings the United States back into the mainstream of its own best traditions. Segregation is a hangover of slavery, and its ugliest manifestation has been in the schools.'' While the Brown decision was a historic victory for equality, this anniversary is bittersweet.…”