Fifty Years after Brown v. Board of Education, NOW Continues the Fight for Equal Education

May 17, 2004

"In a landmark decision 50 years ago, Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court signaled the beginning of the end of our country's shameful history of racial segregation by recognizing that separate educational facilities are 'inherently unequal.'

For five decades, the Brown principle that separate is not equal has been the bedrock of civil rights laws, and we strive to make it a foundation of our society. Today, on the 50th anniversary of this landmark decision, we must continue the fight against segregation in public schooling. The Bush administration has proposed taking steps that are reintroducing segregation into the public education system--this time in the form of segregation by sex, instead of race - without even a prohibition against discrimination in the offering and structure of those programs.

'Separate but equal' had no place in public education in 1954, and it has no place in 2004. NOW is proud to battle the Department of Education's efforts to implement sex-segregated programs in public schools. The divisive legacy of school segregation in this country will not be forgotten as we struggle to ensure equal opportunities for women and girls.

As we commemorate the Court's historic ruling today, we must recommit ourselves to making the dream of equal education a reality for all everyone in this country."

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