The Troublesome Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education

Purpose: This article reflects on the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision while discussing the significant lessons learned from this and subsequent court decisions. Argument: In this article, we posit that a fundamentally different conversation surrounding the legacy of Brown is needed if we are to critically understand the past, present, and future of race relations as a backdrop to issues of segregated schooling in this country. Implications: The troublesome legacy of Brown provides a unique opportunity to interrogate why we, as a country, continue to have faith in this particular court decision as a remedy for racial inequality. We invite readers to symbolically let go of Brown in order to imagine new possibilities for racial justice, educational opportunity, and social reform.