CONTEST BACKGROUND

The contest stems from the U.S. Supreme Court's review of two critical cases could limit the ability of communities to promote racially and ethnically diverse local schools and avoid racial segregation. These cases mark a turning point in the nation's response to the Court's unanimous 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" has no place in the field of public education.

When the Court rules on these cases this term, it has an opportunity either to give local communities the ability to preserve some measure of racial integration in public schools, or to end the era of Brown.

For more information, read our fact sheet about education and racial justice.