US civil rights icon Linda Brown dies at 76

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Linda Brown, the woman who as a child was at the center of a Supreme Court case that was a landmark in the Civil Rights Movement, has died. She was 76.

The 1954 case ended legal racial segregation in U.S. schools after Brown's father, Oliver, objected to his daughter being denied entry to an all-white school in their neighborhood. The Brown v. Board of Education case included Brown as well as families in several states across the U.S.

But it was Oliver Brown who was the lead plaintiff in the case in which the top court unanimously decided segregated education is inherently unequal and thereby ended as a matter of law the long-standing "separate, but equal" practice. Segregation continued as a matter of fact for several years after the case was decided, primarily in the southern U.S.

It was not until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that all lawfully-enforced segregation was put to an end.

By the time the Supreme Court issued its ruling -- a year-and-a-half after the case was first brought -- Brown had already continued her schooling at an integrated high school.

Brown died Sunday in Topeka, Kansas, and her death was confirmed late Monday.

Brown "courageously fought to end the ultimate symbol of white supremacy – racial segregation in public schools,” according to Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

"It was not easy for her or her family, but her sacrifice broke barriers and changed the meaning of equality in this country. Brown v. Board of Education is the most important, transformational Supreme Court decision of the 20th century," she said in a statement.

Also reflecting on Brown's death, Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer said "64 years ago a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America".

"Linda Brown's life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world," he said.