Which landmark Supreme Court case ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional?

The landmark Supreme Court case that ruled segregation in public schools was unconstitutional is Brown v. Board of Education. This 1954 decision fundamentally transformed the legal landscape regarding racial segregation in the United States.

The Court unanimously determined that "separate but equal" educational facilities for racial minorities and whites were inherently unequal, thus violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This ruling effectively overturned the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which upheld the legality of racial segregation under the notion of separate but equal. Brown v. Board of Education laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement and the subsequent push for desegregation across various public institutions.

This case highlighted the psychological and social detriments of segregation on African American children and recognized that segregated schools fostered a sense of inferiority that adversely affected their educational and personal growth. The ruling was a significant victory in the fight against systemic racism in America and set a precedent for future civil rights litigation.