BOARD OF REGENTS APPROVES BROWN V. BOARD RESOLUTION
Equality of Educational Opportunity Fundamental to the Future of Kansas

(TOPEKA) – Yesterday the Kansas Board of Regents approved the following formal resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision:

WHEREAS, May 17, 2004, marks the 50th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision; and

WHEREAS, the Brown v. Board decision held that the segregation of schools on the basis of race violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, Brown v. Board ended the long-standing practice of “separate but equal” as established by the United States Supreme Court’s 1898 Plessy v. Ferguson decision and held that segregation on the basis of race deprives minority children of equal education opportunities; and

WHEREAS, the Brown v. Board decision was the turning point in the desegregation of America and the effort to open wide the doors of opportunity to Americans of all races; and

WHEREAS, the Kansas Board of Regents, as the leader of public higher education in Kansas, reaffirms the United States Supreme Court’s decision that “separate but equal” educational facilities are inherently unequal and that “separate but equal” has no place in Kansas’ educational system.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE GREAT STATE OF KANSAS:

That on April 14, 2004, the Kansas Board of Regents hereby commemorates the 50th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, and that the Board of Regents embraces the recognition that the achievement of equality of educational opportunity remains fundamental to the future of Kansas.

For more information contact Kip Peterson, Director of Government Affairs & Communications, at (785) 296-3421.

April 16, 2004 11:59 AM