Which Supreme Court case overruled Plessy v. Ferguson and held that racially segregated public schools are inherently unequal, leading to desegregation?

• A. Brown v. Board (1954)
• B. Plessy v. Ferguson
• C. Loving v. Virginia
• D. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is how a landmark Supreme Court ruling ended the legal basis for racial segregation in public schools. In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Court declared that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and thus violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. By overturning the earlier Plessy v. Ferguson doctrine of "separate but equal" in the school context, Brown mandated desegregation and reshaped civil rights law to promote equal access to education. This decision didn’t resolve every form of segregation at once, but it provided the legal foundation for desegregation nationwide and spurred further civil rights advances. For comparison, Plessy v. Ferguson established the separate-but-equal standard; Loving v. Virginia struck down bans on interracial marriage; Regents of the University of California v. Bakke addressed admissions policy and racial quotas. The case that overruled Plessy in the education arena and led to desegregation is Brown.