LDF President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill today released the following statement in recognition of the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and its historical significance as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century:
“The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education Brown stands as perhaps the most important constitutional moment of the 20th century. It signaled the beginning of the end of legal apartheid in this country. The America we sometimes take for granted today – in which blacks can be found as the head of Fortune 500 companies, Ivy League colleges, and even in the oval office is a world that was birthed by Brown.
“Of course, Brown was no magic bullet for the problems of race and inequality that have plagued our nation since its beginning. We proudly celebrate Brown even as we recognize the ongoing, difficult challenges we face today not only in education, but in criminal justice, in economic opportunity and at the ballot box. At its core, civil rights work is the work of democracy maintenance. As citizens of this country, it is work in which we all have a part to play and which will continue so long as opportunity and justice remain elusive for any segment of our society. Without question, we are still in the fight. All over this country, LDF continues to fight for the most marginalized in society.”
