Final answer:
The Supreme Court impacted desegregation through landmark decisions like Brown v. Board of Education and Brown II. These decisions declared that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, leading to the end of legal segregation and the initiation of desegregation efforts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Supreme Court had a significant impact on desegregation in the United States. Two landmark decisions that had a major impact were the Brown v. Board of Education and Brown II. In the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the concept of "separate but equal" in public schools was unconstitutional. This decision marked the end of legal segregation in schools and paved the way for desegregation efforts across the country. Brown II, decided in 1955, established that desegregation should proceed "with all deliberate speed," but this ambiguous language led to slow and inconsistent progress in desegregation.