GRU Libraries present panel discussion on Brown v. Board of Education

Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.

—Opinion of the Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

Perhaps no one understands the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision as intimately as those who attended and taught at segregated and then-newly integrated schools. These former students and teachers offer an invaluable view of how school segregation and integration functioned before and after the Brown decision in school districts across the country, including in the CSRA.

The GRU Libraries are proud to showcase the voices of these eyewitnesses during “Brown v. Board of Education: A Panel on School Segregation and Integration.” The panel will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 6:30 p.m. in the Coffeehouse of the Jaguar Student Activities Center. A reception will be held after the panel.