In May 1954, the Supreme Court handed down its unanimous 9-0 opinion in "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas" ("Brown I," 1954). In holding that de jure segregation in public schools based on race violated the Equal Protection Clause, the Court prepared American society for a larger concept, namely that children in public schools are entitled to equal educational opportunities. Thus, this article examines the Court's 50-year journey toward eliminating the vestiges of past de jure segregation in public school systems and the movement to unitary status for such districts.