This chapter is adapted from the address that inaugurated the American Educational Research Association annual lecture series commemorating the anniversary of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in the case "Brown v. Board of Education." The authors begin this chapter by paying tribute to Kenneth Bancroft Clark, who led the distinguished group of pedagogical and social scientists who did the intellectual work that was foundational to the judicial, legislative, and public policy work of which the "Brown" decision of 1954 is symbolic. In this chapter, three related ideas are advanced: (1) The reduction of racial isolation via desegregation is an insufficient condition for the achievement of equally high levels of educational attainment across the social divisions by which people are classified in one's society; (2) In a society where members have unequal access to education-relevant forms of capital, the deliberate or affirmative development of academic ability may be indicated; and (3) The pedagogical sciences community should replicate the action of the social scientists who more than 50 years ago deliberately used findings from their research to influence the U.S. courts and ultimately public policy. (Contains 1 note.)