Linda Brown Thompson, who as a little girl was at the center of the Brown v. Board of Education case that ended segregation in American public schools, passed away Sunday, March 25 at the Lexington Park Nursing & Post Acute Center in Topeka, Kansas. She was 75.
The first of three children born to Oliver and Leola Brown, Linda Brown was 9 years old in 1951 when her father tried to enroll her at Sumner Elementary School, then an all-white school near her Topeka home. When the school blocked her enrollment, her father sued the Topeka Board of Education.
According her family, The Topeka case in Brown was the brainchild of McKinley Burnett, who was president of the local NAACP at the time. The organization recruited families to stand as plaintiffs, resulting in a class of 13. Cases were combined with Brown’s complaint and presented to the U.S. Supreme Court as Oliver L. Brown et al v. Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, et al. There were reportedly nearly 300 plaintiffs on the roster in the lawsuit whose names were obscured by the legal abbreviation of et. al. (Latin for “and others”).
The Topeka case involved 12 schools. The four segregated African-American elementary schools in Topeka were Buchanan, McKinley, Monroe, and Washington schools. The Topeka case also involved eight segregated schools for white children, where African-American parents attempted to enroll their children. During the court proceedings, Thompson attended Monroe and McKinley elementary schools.
Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP’s special counsel and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, argued the case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled in May 1954 that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal,” a violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that no citizen can be denied equal protection under the law.
The ruling overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, an 1896 ruling that established the separate but equal doctrine that formed the legal basis for Jim Crow laws. The court directed schools to desegregate “with all deliberate speed,” but it failed to establish a firm timetable for doing so. The U.S. Supreme Court would outline the process of school desegregation in Brown v. Board of Education II in 1955, but it would take years for schools across the nation to fully comply.
Not long after the ruling, the Brown family moved to Springfield, Missouri, where Thompson graduated from Central High School. She received certification in early childhood education from Kansas State University.
For several years, Thompson worked as a Head Start teacher and for a time taught private piano lessons. She went on to serve as program associate with The Brown Foundation, where she assisted with the establishment of four libraries for preschool children.
She was an accomplished pianist and for 40-plus years provided musical accompaniment for several choirs at St. Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal Church in Topeka, a church pastored by her late father, Rev. Oliver Brown, in the early 1950s. As a longstanding member of St. Mark over the years, she chaired several project committees and on occasion spoke for church programs.
Thompson is survived by a son, Charles D. Smith of Topeka, Kansas; a daughter, Kimberly A. Smith of Kansas City, Missouri; three grandsons, Donnell Smith, Lawrence Smith and Andrew Smith; three step-grandchildren, Raheisha Gist, Karmen Nard and Conrad Nard; three great-grandchildren, Sanaa, Aujanaa, Andrew Christopher; her mother, Leola Brown Montgomery and siblings, Terry Brown Tyler, Cheryl Brown Henderson; and a host of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William L. Thompson.
On Monday, Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer acknowledged her contribution to American history.
“Sixty-four years ago, a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America,” Colyer said via Twitter. “Linda Brown’s life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world.”
A public visitation for Thompson will be held 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, April 4 at Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel, 401 SW Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas. A private memorial service for family and friends will be held the next day. Condolences may be sent to Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel, 401 SW Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas 66603.
