Analyses of the Brown decision often overstate its importance. For centuries before it was handed down, white Americans regarded blacks as inferior. During the time of slavery, white men (including those of apparent stature, such as Jefferson and Lincoln) felt that for some reason society could do to black people that which it could not do to any other major group. This cruel rationale lay behind the exalted Emancipation Proclamation (which, contrary to popular belief, permitted slavery to continue in some regions in West Virginia), and was furthered by the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson. Historically, white Americans have valued advanced learning, and yet they once made it a crime for a black person to read and write. Racial integration, as promoted by the Brown decision, cannot be a panacea for America's problems. Integration must be accompanied by respect for pluralism, for ethnic and racial diversity, and for the de-escalation of hatred and racial polarization. Above all, integrated education must be quality education. It must be adequately funded and must lead to real jobs. (KH)