"We conclude that in the field of Education, the doctrine of separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." 
                                                                                      - U.S Supreme court, 1954 

Left: Sumner Elementary School in the 1960s. (courtesy of KansasMemory.org).
Right: Sumner Elementary School today

And so it began.  In this landmark ruling, young Linda Brown and other plaintiffs paved the way for future generations to attend classes side-by-side with their white peers.  In the decades to come, Monroe Elementary, the black school that Linda had to travel over two miles to attend, would become the National Park Service site commemorating this event. Sumner Elementary, the all-white school just blocks from her home, would eventually be left to fall into extreme disrepair, and remains closed, in a holding pattern.