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Brown School Desegregation Case Examined in Spring Prologue Magazine
Press Release · Friday, April 23, 2004

Washington, DC

Press Release
April 23, 2004


Brown School Desegregation Case Examined in Spring Prologue Magazine

In the landmark ruling 50 years ago this spring, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the U.S. Supreme Court gave great impetus to the growing civil rights movement and put the issue of school desegregation on the national agenda.

The Spring issue of Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration explores the background of that case and the impact on the Topeka, KS, schools since then in an article by Jean Van Delinder, an associate professor of sociology at Oklahoma State University.

"The ruling that 'separate educational facilities are inherently unequal' brought racial issues into the forefront of the national consciousness as never before and forced all Americans to confront a racially divided society and undemocratic social practices," writes Van Delinder.

Also in Prologue, in "An Alleged Wife," author Robert Barde recounts the story of one immigrant from China who fought for two years to enter the United States during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Barde is deputy director of the Institute of Business and Economic Research at the University of California at Berkeley.

The Spring Prologue also features some of the letters that children have written to Presidents of the United States, including one to Franklin D. Roosevelt from a young Cuban boy named Fidel Castro. The issue also examines the shopping list Meriwether Lewis had 200 years ago for supplies he needed for the Lewis & Clark expedition, which set out for America's uncharted west in May 1804.

And "Sounds of Crisis" provides a preview of the National Archives Experience, a new permanent exhibition that will open at the National Archives Building in Washington later this year. The article offers a sample of the many historical recordings in the holdings of the Archives.

For 35 years, Prologue has shared with readers the rich resources and programs of the National Archives, its regional archives, and the Presidential libraries. Each issue features historical articles-drawn from National Archives' holdings and written by noted historians, archivists, and experts-as well as articles explaining and describing many of the National Archives' activities and programs as the nation's recordkeeping agency. The Washington Post said, "Prologue . . . can be regarded quite literally as an invitation for further study. It is also consistently absorbing reading."

A 1-year subscription to Prologue costs $20. To begin a subscription, call 301-837-1850 or 1-800-234-8861, or print out the order form found on the web site at www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/subscribe_to_prologue.html. Mail orders to Prologue, P.O. Box 100684, Atlanta, GA, 30384. You can also fax credit card orders to Prologue at 301-837-0319.

Single copies of Prologue are available at The Archives Shop or at the Cashier's Office in the Washington or at the Publications Sales Office in College Park. Back issues are also available at the College Park location.

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