Brown v. Board: How its impacts are still felt 70 years later
TOPEKA (KSNT) - A landmark case that changed the way public schools operate in America will celebrate 70 years next week.
Topeka, Kansas is known to some as the birthplace of desegregation. For those with personal connections to the case, like Victoria Benson, who is the daughter of one of the plaintiffs, it can be eye-opening to see the progress inspired by the people involved.
"It is breathtaking to think you're a part of history," Benson said. "I finished at Buchanon, which was an all-black elementary school. My brother Marvin Lawton was the first of us to go to Lowman Hill, an integrated elementary school."
This progress has continued to present day, especially for Tiffany Anderson. In 2016, she became the first female, African American superintendent of Topeka Public Schools (TPS).
"Schools today in Topeka have students and teachers of color because of the Brown v. Board case," Anderson said. "It is critical to what we do and who we are. Our community continues to uplift many of these legacy leaders that are still right here in the community."
In celebration of this local history, organizations are planning multiple events. Below are a list of everything still to come:
- Picture the Dream Exhibit
- 5/1-8/11 @ Kansas Children's Discovery Center
- Local schools field trip to the historical site
- 5/8 @ Brown v. Board site
- Topeka's Black Communities Panel
- 5/9 @ Topeka and Shawnee Co. Public Library - Marvin Auditorium
- African American Topeka History Tour
- 5/11 @ Topeka
- Academy of African American Business and Development
- 5/14 @ Washburn University
- Now Let Me Fly Play
- 5/17 @ Washburn University
- Mobile Museum
- 5/61-5/17 @ Washburn University
- 70th Anniversary Commemoration
- 5/17 @ Brown v. Board site
- 70th Anniversary Celebration
- 5/18 @ Brown v. Board site
- Our Stories Exhibition Reenactors
- 5/19 @ Sabatini Gallery
- Spoken Word Operetta
- 5/24 @ White Concert Hall
For more information on the upcoming 70th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of Education case, click here.
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