On May 17 1954, the United States Supreme Court passed the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision, which began the process of desegregating American schools and ultimately served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. The case was successfully argued and won by Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first Black Supreme Court Justice.
70 years later, President Joe Biden and his administration plan to honor the landmark decision in a series of community engagements and plans to highlight his vision for continuing to uplift Black Americans.
Today, President Biden will meet with plaintiffs from the Brown v. Board of Education case and their families at the White House. Biden is also set to speak at the NAACP’s event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the SCOTUS decision tomorrow, May 17, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.
(l-r) George E. C. Hayes, of Washington, DC; Thurgood Marshall, Special Counsel for the NAACP; and James Nabrit, Jr., Professor and Attorney at Law at Howard University in Washington. These three argued the Brown v. Board of Education case in front of the US Supreme Court. Image: Bettman/Getty Images.
The NAACP plans to “examine this historic event’s impact on the current state of education and honor the Little Rock 9, the litigants of Brown v. Board, and other champions who have made the continued pursuit of educational justice possible.”
The President and Vice President Kamala Harris will also meet with the leaders of the Divine Nine at the event, furthering their discussions and understanding of what it means to be Black in academia.
To close out the weekend, on Sunday President Biden will deliver the Commencement address the 140th Morehouse College Commencement in Atlanta. Some in the Morehouse community have expressed concern over Biden’s speech at commencement, but this event is crucial for the President to rally young Black voters.
President Biden and the White House are dedicated to advancing racial justice for Black Americans. The White House affirms that since the first day of their administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris have leveraged the full force of the Federal Government to advance racial justice and equity. A statement from the White House pointed out many of the victories for Black Americans that Biden has spearheaded.
“As a result of their leadership, Black household family wealth is up 60%, more than 2.5 million jobs have been created for Black Americans, and in 2023 we hit the lowest Black unemployment on record.”
Considering the current attacks on equitable education from right-wing politicians— including the banning of affirmative action, erasure of Black and Indigenous American History from schools and the dismantling of the public school system—it is invaluable that we have a president dedicated to equal education for all.
