8,000 students affected, state officials see no trouble adjusting schools to new rule
Creator: Topeka Journal
Date: May 17, 1954
This article discusses how the state of Kansas will work to conform to the ruling made in the Brown v. Board of Education decision on May 17, 1954. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that the segregation of schools based on race was unconstitutional. Many cities in Kansas, including Topeka, Atchison, Salina, Wichita, and Pittsburg were already working to integrate their schools. Topeka had an estimated 625 African American students who would be affected by the court's ruling, and the article lists the numbers for other cities and towns in the state.

Airmail Special Letter: Robert Carter to Mckinley Burnett
Date: March 31, 1953
Attorney Robert Carter acknowledges receipt of a copy of a letter from McKinley Burnett sent with an enclosed memo from Superintendent of Topeka Schools, Kenneth McFarland. Carter advises Burnett that if the McFarland proceeds in this (possible dismissal of Negro teachers) he would immediately initiate a court action. Carter further advises that he would be in Des Moines and that he would be happy to meet any teachers who have received "these notices."

Alvin and Lucinda Todd family in Topeka, Kansas
Date: 1946
A photograph of the Todd family (left to right) Alvin, Nancy and Lucinda, taken in Topeka, Kansas. Lucinda Todd was a participant in the Brown vs Topeka Board of Education landmark U.S. Supreme Court case to desegregate schools. She was also the secretary of the Topeka NAACP which brought the Legal Defense Fund to Topeka.

A.S. Wilson to Henry J. Allen
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1919-1923 : Allen)
Date: January 24, 1919
A.S. Wilson, an attorney in Galena, Kansas, writes to Governor Henry J. Allen to indicate his interest in a law that would allow second class cities to separate the schools based on "white and colored children." He included a petition with signatures with the letter.

Attorney Robert Carter to McKinley Burnett
Date: September 14, 1951
This letter dated September 14, 1951, is from NAACP Assistant Special Counsel Robert L. Carter to Topeka NAACP Chapter President McKinley Burnett. Carter advises Burnett that the National Chapter of the NAACP would require $5,000 to take the Brown case to the United States Supreme Court. However, Carter explained that the money would have to be raised locally and that nearby NAACP chapters could contribute if they so desired.

Beads from Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Date: 1874-1975
These beads were recovered during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 2022 at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka. Shown are a variety of plastic and glass beads that include those laced or snapped together or hung from a brass attachment. An earlier school, Monroe School, was on the property from 1874 to 1927. The current Monroe Elementary School (built in 1926 and closed in 1975) serves as the interpretive center for the park. Both were segregated African American schools until 1954 when the Supreme Court ended legal segregation in the United States.

Bradford School District 27, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Date: 1929
Photograph of a group of students from Bradford School District No. 27 in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. Some of the children have been identified as Elsie Shaw and Billy Ford, as well as two Scott children, four DePriest children, two Prescott children, two Robbins children, two McKnight children, and _____ Smith.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka: The case of the century
Creator: Kansas Bar Association
Date: 2004
Produced by the Kansas Bar Association, this 70-minute video features a reenactment of the 1952 and 1953 oral arguments presented to the United States Supreme Court in the landmark school segregation case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

Butter Pat from Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Date: 1874-1975
This partial butter pat was recovered during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 2022 at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka. Butter pats are often mistaken for children's toy dishes, but they are meant to hold individual servings of butter. An earlier school, Monroe School, was on the property from 1874 to 1927. The current Monroe Elementary School (built in 1926 and closed in 1975) serves as the interpretive center for the park. Both were segregated African American schools until 1954 when the Supreme Court ended legal segregation in the United States.

Buttons from Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Date: 1874-1950
These buttons were recovered during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 2022 at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka. Shown are a variety of plastic and shell buttons in 2- and 4-hole attachment styles and one shank metal button. An earlier school, Monroe School, was on the property from 1874 to 1927. The current Monroe Elementary School (built in 1926 and closed in 1975) serves as the interpretive center for the park. Both were segregated African American schools until 1954 when the Supreme Court ended legal segregation in the United States.

Chamber Pot from Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Date: 1874-1940
These chamber pot fragments were recovered during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 2022 at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka. The fragments were reconstructed in the Archeology Lab at the Kansas Historical Society. An earlier school, Monroe School, was on the property from 1874 to 1927. The current Monroe Elementary School (built in 1926 and closed in 1975) serves as the interpretive center for the park. Both were segregated African American schools until 1954 when the Supreme Court ended legal segregation in the United States.

Charles E. Bledsoe to the NAACP Legal Department
Creator: Bledsoe, Charles E.
Date: September 5, 1950
In the letter, Charles E. Bledsoe, attorney for the Topeka Chapter of the NAACP, outlines the general nature of Topeka's situation as influenced by local laws. In particular, Bledsoe refers to the Kansas Permissive Law of 1879 that allowed individual school districts to segregate schools if they so desired. However, the law did not mandate school segregation in Kansas. The response to this letter is Kansas Memory item #213410.

Charles I. Baston interview
Creator: Baston, Charles I.
Date: May 14, 1992
Charles Baston was born in Lee's Summit, Missouri, on April 24, 1917. He attended grade school and junior high school while still living in Lee's Summit, and after junior high he moved to Topeka to attend the Kansas Vocational Technical School. He moved to Topeka permanently after his World War II discharge. Baston was a member of the executive committee of the local chapter of the NAACP during the Brown v. Board hearings. Much of his interview deals with the NAACPs role in finding plaintiffs in the Brown case, the problem with busing students to segregated schools, and other individuals who were instrumental to the success of this suit. Towards the end of the interview he also talks about how the Brown decision has not reached its full potential because of the racial prejudices that still exist today. Jean VanDelinder conducted the interview. The Brown v. Board oral history project was funded by Hallmark Cards Inc., the Shawnee County Historical Society, the Brown Foundation for Educational Excellence, Equity, and Research, the National Park Service, and the Kansas Humanities Council. Parts of the interview may be difficult to hear due to the quality of the original recording.

Children dressed for performance in Alma, Kansas
Date: 1910-1930
Three photographs showing groups of school children posing in costume for a play or performance in Alma, Kansas.

Chris Hansen interview
Creator: Hansen, Chris
Date: October 5, 1992
Chris Hansen was an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, starting in 1973. In 1984, after the Brown v. Board desegregation case was reopened, Hansen served on the legal team working on this case. The ACLU was representing 17 children and their parents who claimed that the Topeka USD501 district had not fully complied with the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring segregated schools unconstitutional. The case went before the Federal District Court in October 1986, and four years later after an appeal, the court ruled in favor of the petitioners, stating that Topeka Public Schools had not fully complied with the court decision to desegregate. Hansen's interview discusses his involvement in the case, the plaintiffs (including Linda Brown Smith) and his experiences in Topeka. The interview was conducted by Jean VanDelinder. The Brown v. Board oral history project was funded by Hallmark Cards Inc., the Shawnee County Historical Society, the Brown Foundation for Educational Excellence, Equity, and Research, the National Park Service, and the Kansas Humanities Council.

Christina Jackson interview
Creator: Jackson, Christina
Date: September 20, 1991
Christina Jackson was born on August 15, 1926, in Topeka, Kansas, to Georgia and Jess Edwards. In this interview, Jackson speaks about her experiences at the segregated Washington Elementary School and then at the integrated East Topeka Junior High and Topeka High School. According to Jackson, Washington had very strict teachers who emphasized the importance of learning about African American history. Her children attended Monroe School and, after desegregation, moved to State Street School, which had formerly been a school for white children only. Her children recalled that the faculty at State Street worked hard to integrate the black students, who were for the most part accepted by their peers. It was not until her children entered Holliday Junior High that they struggled with racial discrimination and derogatory comments. Jackson also discusses her work experiences and involvement in social clubs and volunteer organizations. This interview was conducted by Jean VanDelinder and Ralph Crowder. The Brown v. Board oral history project was funded by Hallmark Cards Inc., the Shawnee County Historical Society, the Brown Foundation for Educational Excellence, Equity, and Research, the National Park Service and the Kansas Humanities Council. Parts of the interview may be difficult to hear due to the quality of the original recording.

C. M. Moates to Governor Edward Hoch
Creator: Moates, C. M.
Date: February 21, 1905
C. M. Moates, M.D. of Leavenworth (Leavenworth County) writes Governor Edward W. Hoch of Topeka (Shawnee County) concerning the segregation of Kansas City (Kans.) High School. Moates requests the Governor veto a bill recently passed by the Kansas Legislature which would segregate the school by building a separate building for black children. The letter reminds the Governor of the Republican Party's traditional stand for Negro rights, cites the dominance of the Republican Party in Kansas, and charges the Kansas Republican Party as behaving like Democrats. The letter notes that the Democratic dominated legislature in Arkansas was considering similar legislation. The letter also cites the efforts of John Brown and Daniel Reed Anthony to make Kansas a free state. Moates claims at some point the Republic Party will need Negro votes and that this law will drive Negroes from the party. He also claims high school segregation will incite trouble between the races. Governor Hoch signed the bill on February 22, 1905. See K. L. Browne to Governor Edward Hoch, February 18, 1905.

Combination classroom and auditorium at Walker School in Johnson County, Kansas
Date: 1949
This is a photograph showing the combination classroom and auditorium at Walker School in Johnson County, Kansas. The photograph was used in the plaintiff's exhibit in Webb v USD 90. It was removed from KS Appellate Court Case file 37,427.

Discrimination persists, Smith says
Creator: Knudsen, Gwyn
Date: October 15, 1986
This article in the Topeka Capital-Journal focuses on Linda Brown Smith who, along with her father Oliver Brown, were plaintiffs in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education. Linda Smith had recently testified in a federal court about her experiences attended segregated schools in Topeka, including the Monroe school. Smith was called to the stand as a witness in a re-hearing of the Brown v. Board case to determine whether or not there were still some elements of institutional racial segregation in the Topeka school system. Smith, a plaintiff in the re-opened case, believed that racial discrimination still existed in the schools.

Douglas School in Topeka, Kansas
Date: May 1902
A view of Douglas School, which was attended by African American students, located on Polk Street between 3rd and 4th Streets in Topeka, Kansas. The photograph was submitted to the Kansas Supreme Court as exhibit A in William Reynolds vs The Board of Education of the City of Topeka of the State of Kansas.

Douglas School in Topeka, Kansas
Date: May, 1902
A view of Douglas School, which was attended by African American students, located on Polk Street between 3rd and 4th Streets inTopeka, Kansas. The photograph was submitted to the Kansas Supreme Court as exhibit A in the case of William Reynolds vs. The Board of Education of the City of Topeka of the State of Kansas.

Elisha J. Scott
Date: Between 1950 and 1959
Elisha J. Scott, 1890-1963, was raised in Topeka's Tennesseetown. As a youth, he possessed a strong drive and a quick wit, which attracted the eye of prominent Topeka minister Charles M. Sheldon. With financial support from Sheldon and his own abilities to succeed, Scott earned his law degree from Washburn College in 1916. During his long career as an attorney, he argued many civil rights and school segregation cases throughout Kansas and the Midwest. Two of Scott's sons, John and Charles, joined him in his law firm of Scott, Scott, Scott, and Jackson. Together they helped to prosecute, at the local level, the landmark civil rights case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

Esther Swirk Brown
Date: 1948
Esther Swirk Brown (1917-1970), was involved in desegregating Walker School, an all black school in South Park, Johnson County, Kansas. She was instrumental in organizing a South Park chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Brown was actively involved in Webb vs. School Dictrict No. 90, which resulted in the desegregation of Johnson County school.

First and second grade students at Sumner Grade School in Topeka, Kansas
Creator: Schrock, John Edward
Date: April 13, 1950
This is a photograph showing first and second grade students at Sumner Grade School in Topeka, Kansas. The teacher is Bernice Avery.

First grade class at State Street School, Topeka
Creator: Schrock, John Edward
Date: January 27, 1955-January 28, 1955
This photograph shows the first grade class at State Street Elementary School, taught by Miss Hunt. It was taken shortly after Topeka elementary schools were racially integrated in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Prior to this decision, which made segregated schools unconstitutional, State Street had been a school for white children only.