Which landmark decision helped end segregation in public schools?

The landmark decision that significantly contributed to ending segregation in public schools is the case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. Decided in 1954, this Supreme Court ruling declared that state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students were unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court found that "separate but equal" educational facilities were inherently unequal, and therefore, segregation in public education was a violation of the constitution.

This decision came in the context of a growing civil rights movement, aiming to undermine the segregation deeply entrenched in American society. The ruling not only overturned the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld state-sponsored segregation in various forms, but it also served as a catalyst for further legal challenges to discriminatory practices.

Brown v. Board of Education effectively opened the doors to integrated schooling, marking a pivotal shift in American legal and cultural attitudes regarding race and equality. It established that government-sponsored racial segregation was not just an educational issue, but a fundamental violation of civil rights, influencing not only public education but also a broader civil rights agenda throughout the country.