The first important case of the Warren Court was Brown v. Board of Education (1954). This case brought an end to legal segregation in the United States. Following the 1896 decision of the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, the court had said that segregation of the races was acceptable as long as facilities for both races were equal. This concept of “separate but equal” was found to be unconstitutional by the Warren court and the earlier decision was reversed. This landmark decision increased the momentum of the growing civil rights movement.
Brown Vs. Board of Education was the court case that ended legal segregation in public schools. In December of 1952, the U.S. Supreme Court had several different cases which challenged the constitutionality of racial segregation in public schools. In 1952, a class action suit was filed against the Topeka, Kansas Board of Education. The plaintiffs were 13 Topeka parents on behalf of their children. The suit called for the Board of Education to reverse it's policy of racial segregation.