Oliver Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
The Monroe School is one of two elementary schools in Topeka that is associated with the Supreme Court's 1954 landmark decision in Oliver Brown et al v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The Brown decision overturned the authority of the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896), which provided a legal justification for segregation with its famous doctrine of "separate but equal.” Monroe Elementary School was designed by Thomas Williamson, a local architect. Williamson was extremely prolific, producing hundreds of buildings in Topeka and throughout the state from 1912 to the 1960s. He is best known in this area for his design of Topeka High School. The Monroe School stands as an icon of African American organizational abilities and of community activity; it is a reminder of the premium that black citizens have long put on education; and it is a testament to the racial climate of Topeka which stands in contrast to those communities of the Jim Crow South that were also a part of the Brown decision. Link to More Information: www.nps.gov
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