Linda Brown, central figure in schools desegregation fight

A woman who became a central figure in the fight against racial segregation in US schools has died at the age of 75.

Linda Brown died in Topeka, Kansas, her sister Cheryl Brown Henderson, founding president of The Brown Foundation, confirmed to The Topeka Capital-Journal.

As a girl in Kansas in the 1950s, Ms Brown’s father tried to enrol her in an all-white school in Topeka.

He and several black families were turned away, sparking the Brown v Board of Education case that challenged segregation in public schools.

A 1954 decision by the US Supreme Court followed, striking down racial segregation in schools and cementing Ms Brown’s place in history as a key figure in the landmark case.

Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel at NAACP Legal Defence and Educational Fund, said in a statement that Ms Brown was one of a band of heroic young people who, along with her family, courageously fought to end the ultimate symbol of white supremacy – racial segregation in public schools.

“She stands as an example of how ordinary schoolchildren took centre stage in transforming this country,” Ms Ifill said in a statement.

“It was not easy for her or her family, but her sacrifice broke barriers and changed the meaning of equality in this country.”

The NAACP’s legal arm brought the lawsuit to challenge segregation in public schools before the Supreme Court and Ms Brown’s father, Oliver Brown, became lead plaintiff.

Several black families in Topeka were turned down when they tried to enrol their children in white schools near their homes.

The lawsuit was joined with cases from Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

On May 17 1954, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that separating black and white children was unconstitutional because it denied black children the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

Linda Brown.