Which statement best summarizes the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education?

Which statement best summarizes the outcome of Brown v. Board of Education?

• A. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal; ended de jure segregation in public schools.
• B. Segregation in education is permissible if facilities are equal.
• C. The case upheld de jure segregation in public schools.
• D. The Court did not address school segregation.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause because separate facilities are inherently unequal. Brown v. Board of Education held that state-mandated segregation in public education cannot stand because keeping students in separate schools based on race creates inequality in educational opportunities. This overturned the earlier idea of “separate but equal” and marked the beginning of desegregation in schools, i.e., the end of de jure segregation in public schooling. The other statements miss the ruling: segregation isn’t allowed even if facilities were claimed to be equal, the Court did address and reject segregation, and it did not uphold de jure separation.

The main idea is that segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause because separate facilities are inherently unequal. Brown v. Board of Education held that state-mandated segregation in public education cannot stand because keeping students in separate schools based on race creates inequality in educational opportunities. This overturned the earlier idea of “separate but equal” and marked the beginning of desegregation in schools, i.e., the end of de jure segregation in public schooling. The other statements miss the ruling: segregation isn’t allowed even if facilities were claimed to be equal, the Court did address and reject segregation, and it did not uphold de jure separation.