The Monroe School was one of the four segregated grade schools where the Topeka board of education assigned black schoolchildren. The building had been through many permutations since it closed in 1975. Its long-term future was a question mark, but the Brown Foundation will embark on a mission to preserve a local and national historic site. The Monroe School will culminate in its dedication as a museum depicting the story of the "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" case and related battles for desegregation and civil rights.