Segregation Map from Ball State University Libraries

Mapping History:  Sixtieth Anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education 

The landmark United States Supreme Court decision, Brown versus the Board of Education, was handed down on May 17, 1954.  The decision overturned the Plessy versus Ferguson decision which allowed state-sponsored segregation as “separate but equal.” 

The map above from the United States History Atlas (click to enlarge) is currently exhibited in and available from the Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC).  The map identifies state segregation policies as they existed in 1954 at the time of the ruling.  The Brown decision allowed for integration and declared separate public schools for students as unconstitutional, an important event in the civil rights movement.

For more information about maps depicting historic events, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.