Final answer:
In the years leading up to Brown v. Board of Education, there were key cases such as Sweat v. Painter, McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, and Mendez v. Westminster that challenged segregation in education. These cases set the precedent for desegregation in higher education and laid the foundation for the Brown decision.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the years leading up to the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education, there were several key cases that paved the way for the decision. These cases include Sweat v. Painter, McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, and Mendez v. Westminster. In Sweat v. Painter (1950), the Supreme Court ruled that the University of Texas had to admit an African American student to its law school, setting a precedent for desegregation in higher education. Similarly, in McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950), the Court ruled that segregation within a university violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Lastly, in Mendez v. Westminster (1947), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that segregating Mexican American students into separate schools violated their rights. These cases established a trend of challenging segregation in education and paved the way for the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Learn more about The cases leading up to Brown v. Board of Education and their significance.