Which 1954 Supreme Court decision declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional?

• A. Plessy v. Ferguson
• B. Brown v. Board of Education
• C. Roe v. Wade
• D. Miranda v. Arizona

Answer: (B)

It tests understanding of the landmark ruling that ended legal racial segregation in public schools by declaring that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. The Supreme Court held that state laws establishing separate schools for Black and white students violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, effectively overturning the old doctrine of "separate but equal" established by earlier cases. This decision reframed education as a domain where racial segregation was unconstitutional, setting a constitutional standard that desegregation in schools must occur nationwide. It later led to Brown II, which urged desegregation to proceed with all deliberate speed. For broader context, other famous cases like Roe v. Wade address abortion rights and Miranda v. Arizona addresses warning rights for suspects; neither concerns school segregation.