On this date in 1954, the United States Supreme Court “declared the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ unconstitutional and handed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc (LDF) the most celebrated victory in its storied history.

Brown v Board of Education invalidated racial segregation in public schools throughout the United States and paved the way for integration in nearly every aspect of American life.

Importantly, Brown v Board overturned the “1896 landmark Supreme Court decision Plessy v Furguson,” which had established a 58-year precedent which “established that the policy of ‘separate but equal’ was legal and states could pass laws requiring segregation of the races.”