Remembering Brown v. Board of Education With My Quilt “Colored Girl Dreams”

I was born January 1, 1954. Later that year on May 17th the United States decided the landmark case of Brown V. Board of Education. The court held that schools must be integrated and that the separate but equal policy must end. The decision changed the trajectory of my life. It took a while for the decison to be accepted, but when I entered 7th grade, I was finally going to school with white children for the first time, and all of sudden, so many things I had only dreamed about were possible.

I often think about what my life would have been like if segregation in public schools had not ended — very different from the charmed life I live today having earned two advanced degrees. That is why even though there is much meanness in the world, I believe in the goodness of people.

So today I remember and whisper a prayer of gratitude for the courage of the United States Supreme Court on May 17, 1954.