Linda Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas advocated the need for change in America in the mid-20th century. America was a country in turmoil, after many failed efforts to bring about social change, but the groundbreaking case of Linda Brown pushed America in the right direction. At the heart of the problem was segregation. Segregation is the act of separating a certain person or faction from the main group. In the American case, segregation was practiced on minorities such as African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians. The force of segregation fell on African Americans. Segregation was based on pure hatred of black people on the part of white Americans. The majority of them got their hatred of African Americans from their parents. This hatred applied to all aspects of black life, they could not perform the most mundane activity without some sort of segregation. Everything from water fountains to public schools was under the influence of segregation. In Linda Brown's case, the problem wasn't a water fountain but a school. Linda was a black third grader living in Topeka, Kansas, in the midst of racial discrimination. To get to her black elementary school each day, Linda had to walk a mile from her home through a rail yard, even though there was a white elementary school seven blocks away. Her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in a white elementary school but was rejected because of her race. After his daughter refused to enter the school, Oliver contacted McKinley Burnett, the head of the Topeka branch of the NAACP. The NAACP jumped at the chance to help the Browns because they had long awaited an opportunity to challenge segregation in public schools. (Cozzens) The Bro...... middle of paper ...... decided that they would monitor school boards until they showed plans for full compliance and followed those plans. Works Cited Cozzens, Lisa. “Brown v. Board of Education.” www.watson.org. Np, June 29, 1998. Web. October 24, 2011. (Cozzens) “Brown v. School board. » www.pbs.org. Np, and Web. October 24, 2011. ("www.pbs.org") Kansas Historical Society, . “Brown v. Board of Education.” www.kshs.org. Np, September 2011. Web. October 24, 2011. (Kansas Historical Society) “Supreme Court of the United States.” www.findlaw.com. Np, and Web. October 24, 2011. (“www.findlaw.com")