In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ________

• A. declared unconstitutional laws creating schools that were separate but obviously unequal
• B. declared unconstitutional laws supporting schools that were separate but unequal in subtle ways
• C. ruled that racially separate schools were inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional
• D. ruled that segregation was lawful if mandated by a state constitution

Answer: (D)

Brown v. Board of Education establishes that separation in public schools based on race is inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision rejects the idea that “separate but equal” can ever be truly equal in the education context, because separation itself imposes a stigma and denies equal protection regardless of the facilities’ apparent parity. The choice that matches this reasoning states that racially separate schools are inherently unequal and unconstitutional. The other options misstate the ruling by implying inequality must be obvious, occurs in subtle ways, or that segregation can be lawful if a state constitution allows it.