By: Te’Asia Calhoun 

At OHS, you look around and see many students of many races and different backgrounds. OHS is a very diverse school when it comes to students.  The history behind us all being able to gather here starts in 1954.  

Brown V. Board of Education 

On May 17, 1954, a decision from the Supreme Court was made in Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka). The Supreme Court ruled segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The case proved “separate-but-equal” was, in fact, not equal. The “Brown” part of “Brown v. Board of Education” was made up of many different cases that wanted schools to integrate. A man named Oliver Brown, who the case is named after, filed a lawsuit because his daughter Linda Brown was denied access to Topeka’s all-white elementary school. Brown argued that the 14th Amendment had not been upheld.

The case led courageous students, of all ages, to integrate into schools, that had little desire to have them there. The Little Rock Nine were nine high school students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. In 1960, Ruby Bridges was a six-year-old black girl, who integrated into William Frantz Elementary School. The children had to be escorted to school by troops. The children faced many challenges verbally, physically, and mentally. They persevered. Some colleges started the integration process before Brown v. Board of Education. 

The main reasons for the integration of schools were to achieve equity in education, to lessen the contribution of the feeling of inferiority, and reduce racial biases. For OHS and many other schools, the reason for the diversity of students dates back to the case of Brown v. Board of Education. 

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