iBrown/i's Legacy Then and Now: Race and Law School Admissions Debates Continue after Nearly 70 Years

Next month marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education . Although this case represents a major victory in the battle for civil rights, the struggle against racism in education began some 20 years prior to Brown. During the 1930s and 1940s, at least seven African-American law school candidates aggressively challenged the unequal treatment of minority applicants in state courts, some eventually reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. Early successes in these cases lead to the more sweeping Brown decision, which then contributed to further law school admission policy reform. Discussion about the role of race in higher education admission policies persists today, with cases challenging affirmative action and racial quotas continuing the nearly 70-year debate.