The court's commitment to equal protection became real and urgent in Brown, 70 years ago

On May 17, 1954 – 70 years ago this week – the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling in Brown v. Bd. of Education, that marked its historic first full step toward securing the nation’s commitment to equal protection of the law for all Americans. As Justice Stanley Reed, a southerner from Kentucky who made the courageous decision to reject his region’s sentiments on race to form the Court’...