Thurgood Marshall first made a name for himself trying Civil Rights cases related to segregation beginning in the 1930s. In case after case, he and his colleagues in the NAACP Legal Defense Fund made small steps forward while looking for the perfect case to take to the Supreme Court. They found one in 1951 with Brown v. Board of Education. But that famous, landmark case was actually five cases heard together, each representing a different family in a different part of the country whose children attended segregated schools. Rubin meticulously provides details that led up to the famous case, including information about key players, including the students, their parents, and legal counsel on both sides. She details the legal history of Brown in clear language that is accessible to general readers. The way in which Marshall and his team built the case is fascinating, as are the many black-and-white photos of the people involved and the schools themselves, which showed the gross inequities under “separate but equal.” Concluding chapters look at the challenge to actually integrate the schools, which was never given a definitive timeline, and the de facto segregation that continues today by virtue of housing patterns. (Age 11 and older)

An award-winning author chronicles the story behind the landmark Supreme Court decision in this fascinating account for young readers.

In 1954, one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions of the twentieth Century aimed to end school segregation in the United States. The ruling was the culmination of work by many people who stood up to racial inequality, some risking significant danger and hardship, and of careful strategizing by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Award-winning author Susan Goldman Rubin tells the stories behind the ruling and the people responsible for it. Illustrated with historical photographs, this well-researched narrative account is a perfect introduction to the history of school segregation in the United States and the long struggle to end it. An epilogue looks at the far-reaching effects of this landmark decision, and shows how our country still grapples today with a public school system not yet fully desegregated.

Detailed backmatter includes a timeline, primary source texts, and summaries of all mentioned court cases.

An ALA Notable Children's Book
A Patterson Prize Honor Book
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year