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    Esther brown, a 30-year-old Jewish housewife, began a fight for racial justice in a Kansas school. She took her complaints to the all-white school board, which supported a bond issue. Brown organized meetings of African-American parents and tried to convince white parents to join her cause. In 1949, the Kansas Supreme Court held that blacks had the right to attend the new school.

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    Esther brown, a 30-year-old Jewish housewife, began a fight for racial justice in a Kansas school. She took her complaints to the all-white school board, which supported a bond issue. Brown organized meetings of African-American parents and tried to convince white parents to join her cause. In 1949, the Kansas Supreme Court held that blacks had the right to attend the new school.

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    37 views2 pages

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    Esther brown, a 30-year-old Jewish housewife, began a fight for racial justice in a Kansas school. She took her complaints to the all-white school board, which supported a bond issue. Brown organized meetings of African-American parents and tried to convince white parents to join her cause. In 1949, the Kansas Supreme Court held that blacks had the right to attend the new school.

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    In1948,EstherBrown,a30yearoldJewishhousewifeinMerriam,Kansas(asuburbofKansasCity),

    beganafightforracialjusticeinaKansasschooldistrict.Shockedbytheconditionofanallblackschool
    intheSouthParkneighborhoodofherAfricanAmericanmaid,Browntookhercomplaintstotheall
    whiteschoolboard,whichwasthensupportingabondissueforawellequippednewschoolforwhites.
    Theschoolboardseemedunmovedbythefactthatstudentsattheallblack,88yearold,tworoom
    WalkerSchoolhadtouseanouthouseonthedirtplayground,walkhomeforlunch,andattendaschool
    withnoprincipalandjusttwoteachers.Theboard'sconcessiontoinstallnewlightbulbscausedBrown
    toleavethemeetingfeeling"nauseated."
    EsthergrewincreasinglyactiveinthefightforbetterschoolsforAfricanAmericans.Sheorganized
    meetingsofAfricanAmericanparentsandtriedtoconvincewhiteparentstojoinhercause."Iknow
    noneofyouwouldwantyourchildreneducatedundersuchcircumstances,"shetoldacrowdof350ata
    meetingatthenewwhiteschool."They'renotaskingforintegrationjustafairshake."Facedwith
    intransigence,EstheraskedtheKansasCity,KansaschapteroftheNAACPtofilesuit,andthenraised
    moneyforthelegalbattle,makingpitchesataBillieHollidayconcertandanywhereelseshethoughtshe
    mightfindsupporters.Dissatisfiedwithherfirstcounsel,shefiredhim,andhiredblackTopekaattorney
    ElishaScotttopursuethecaseagainsttheSouthParkdistrict.Asthesuitprogressed,Brownhelped
    organizeaboycottoftheallblackschool,andsetupnewprivateschoolstoeducatethestudents
    instead.Brownpaidapriceforheractivism.Shewasthreatened,acrosswasburnedinheryard,and
    herhusbandfiredfromhisjob.In1949,theKansasSupremeCourt,inWebbvsSchoolDistrictNo.90,
    heldthatblackshadtherighttoattendthenew,previouslyallwhite,SouthParkschool.
    Esther'snexttargetwasTopeka,wheresheassistedinaneffortthathadbeenlaunchedbytheNAACP
    tointegratethecity'selementaryschools.LucindaTodd,SecretaryoftheTopekabranch,yearsafter
    theBrownvBoardofEducationdecisionsaidofEstherBrown'sinvolvement:"Idon'tknowifwecould
    havedoneitwithouther."
    EstherBrowndiedin1970.In1975,anewpublicparkinMerriam,Kansas,acrossfromthesiteofthe
    formerallblackschool,wasdedicatedinherhonor.
    TheBrownofBrownvsBoardofEducationofTopekaisOliverBrown.OliverBrownandhisdaughter,
    Linda,arerememberedtoday,whilethethirtythreeplaintiffs,includingthirteenparentsandtwenty
    childrenarelargelyforgotten,simplybecauseOliverBrownwaslistedfirstinthecomplaint.HadOliver
    notagreedtoparticipateinthesuit,studentstodaymighttalkofthefamouscase,say,ofCarperv
    BoardofEducationorFlemingvBoardofEducation(twooftheotheradultplaintiffswhochallenged
    Topeka'spolicy).OliverBrownbecameinvolvedinthecaseafterbeingaskedtobecomeaplaintiffby
    attorneyCharlesScott,anoldchildhoodfriend.
    OliverBrown,32atthetimethesuitagainsttheschooldistrictwasbrought,servedasanassistant
    pastoratTopeka'sblackMethodistchurchandasawelderfortheAtchison,Topeka,andSantaFe
    Railway.AformerteacherdescribedBrownas"anaveragepupilandagoodcitizen."Shy,hardworking,
    religious,andclearlynomilitant,Brownbecamethenonthreateningfaceofthelawsuit.

    Brownandhiswifehadthreechildren,ages8,4,and5monthsatthetimeoftrial.LindaBrown
    attendedallblackMonroeElementary,aschoollocated21blocksfromtheirhomeonWestFirstStreet.
    OliverBrowntestifiedthat"manytimes[Linda]hadtowaitthroughcold,therain,andthesnow"fora
    bustotakehertoMonroe,eventhoughthefamilylivedonlysevenblocksfromanallwhiteelementary
    school.OliveralsotestifiedthatLinda'sroutetoherbusstoptookherovera"mainthoroughfare...with
    avastamountoftraffic."
    BythetimetheSupremeCourtannounceditsdecisioninBrown,andtheTopekaschoolsdesegregated,
    Lindahadmovedontoapreviouslyintegratedjuniorhighschool.Linda'ssiblings,however,enjoyedthe
    benefitsofadesegregatedelementaryschooleducation.
    OliverBrownandhisfamilymovedtoSpringfield,Missouriin1959whereheservedasaminister.He
    diedofaheartattackin1961.

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