Brown v. Board of Education : a fight for simple justice

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

• Introduction: What Is Segregation? p. 1
• 1 Challenging the Law p. 9
• 2 Linda Carol Brown p. 13
• 3 Children Are Craving Light p. 18
• 4 Stand Together p. 24
• 5 Lasting Injury p. 28
• 6 Student Strike! p. 34
• 7 Playing for Keeps p. 41
• 8 Mad at Everyone p. 47
• 9 "We Are All American" p. 54
• 10 In the Minds of Children p. 59
• 11 Helping Make History p. 64
• 12 We Knew We Were Right p. 70
• 13 We, Too, Are Equal p. 75
• 14 The Greatest Victory p. 79
• 15 How Things Worked in America p. 85
• Epilogue: The Fight Goes On p. 91
• Timeline p. 99
• Brief Summaries of the Cases p. 105
• Text of the Fourteenth Amendment p. 110
• Text of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka p. 112
• Bibliography p. 118
• Source Notes p. 121
• Picture Credits p. 129
• Acknowledgments p. 130
• Index p. 131