Why Does Linda Brown Matter To Us?

Sometimes we forget why history is important, or we mistakenly think we KNOW why it’s important. History is about people: not events, dates, titles. The people are what is important.

Example: Everyone’s heard of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark court case that resulted in a legal decision against segregation. The “Brown” was a 3rd-grader named Linda Brown, forced to travel many miles to attend a black school, instead of the white school 4 blocks from her home. Yes, this “event” sparked the “Civil Rights Movement,” but what ever happened to Linda Brown? She was a person, a little girl living in a mixed-race neighborhood who could not go to the same school as her friends she played with. She was a child in the eye of the storm. It’s unconscionable that our society would send the message to this child that she was inferior in some way. What became of her?

It’s interesting that you won’t find the “what happened next?” in the history textbooks. If you did, then we could have a meaningful, intellectual discussion in our schools about the result of this event in our society. Also ironic is the fact that schools today shy away from this sort of discussion – it would be impossible to “grade” a student’s participation or guarantee a standard, equal response from teachers. So, we will continue to have the students regurgitate trivia (like dates and titles) and not really learn to THINK or communicate their thoughts and feelings.

Actually, she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree and became a teacher in the Head Start program, working with underprivileged children. She is now a librarian in the Head Start library sponsored by her family’s foundation. She occasionally accepts invitations to speak at universities.

Any intellectual discussion of this event must include this woman’s life work as a representation of the enormous return we as a society received when we invested in the decision to change our racist ways. Think of the impact she has had on thousands of other children, and still has as a librarian, through her education received.

A strong case can be made that the legal decision was not only the right and moral thing to do regarding this child and all children, but brings to fruition unrealized benefits to our society. Linda Brown was a pebble dropped in the water, and those ripples are still felt today. How could we have been so stoopid before, to not see this? We want the best education we can devise for all American children, who will grow up and contribute to their society.

But, what if she had become a criminal? Would that change our view of this legal decision as a thing of great intrinsic value for our society? I don’t know…but the point I hope to make is that she did not become a criminal. Her society invested in her and she has repaid it a hundredfold. I wonder if she has felt a spotlight on her throughout her life, bringing to mind the ending of the film “Saving Private Ryan.” The commanding officer played by Tom Hanks tells Private Ryan to “earn this” as everyone around him perishes, which means for him to return home and have a great life, in order to honor the sacrifice of others.

How does she view herself and the historical event to which she is forever tied? I love the question asked of Linda and her sister during a speaking appearance at a university. “Was Jackie Robinson’s 1947 admission into Major League Baseball more important to integration than the Brown decision?” Her sister felt that the truly historic change occurred during World War II, when African-Americans fought for freedom overseas and decided they would accept no less for their native land after they returned home. I think the answer to the question of what brought us to integration is: all of the above, and more, as people connect and grow and affect each other.

How does one sum up the importance of Brown v. Board of Education in history? In another speech, Linda said simply “It gave us an opportunity to embrace the better angels of our nature.”

We could really use more opportunities like that.


Linda and her sister today.