Monroe Elementary School is located in a neighborhood of Topeka, Kansas that is now a mix of residential, industrial, small business, and vacant properties. The school and neighborhood were important sites during the Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954, in which the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The landscape provides evidence of education during segregation and the challenges and changes that followed.
"We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (May 17, 1954)
Last updated: July 12, 2023