Fifty years ago, on 17 May 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled in "Brown v. Board of Education" that the "separate but equal" doctrine that had effectively legalized "educational apartheid" some 58 years earlier deprived racially segregated children of the equal protection of laws guaranteed by the fourteenth Amendment. The historical significance of Brown is overviewed in this article, the continuing struggle in America for equality of educational opportunity is documented, and the need for advancing moral purposes in the education of young children is highlighted.