The exhibition will be on view through November 13, 2004.
This and all Library of Congress exhibitions are on view from Monday through
Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. This exhibition is free and open to the
public. No reservations are needed.
On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Brown
v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, declaring that "separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal." This decision
was pivotal to the struggle for racial desegregation in the United
States. This exhibition commemorates the fiftieth anniversary
of this landmark judicial case. The title quotes Robert L. Carter,
one of the counsel representing the plaintiffs. In his oral argument
before the Supreme Court on December 9, 1952, Carter argued against
the constitutionality of racial segregation in public schools
and stated: "It is our position that any legislative or governmental
classification must fall with an even hand on all persons similarly
situated."
"With an Even Hand" is divided into three sections. The
exhibition examines precedent-setting court cases that laid the
ground work for the Brown v. Board decision, explores
the Supreme Court argument and the public's response to it, and
closes with an overview of this profound decision's aftermath.
The exhibition features more than one hundred items from the Library's
extensive holdings on this subject, including books, documents,
photographs, personal papers, manuscripts, maps, music, films,
political cartoons, and prints. A film compilation captures the
historic events and highlights media coverage of the struggle for
desegregation.
The exhibition includes a presentation of Voices of Civil
Rights, a joint project between the Library of Congress,
AARP, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR). Over
the next year, the project will collect and preserve thousands
of personal stories, oral histories, photographs, and personal
artifacts of the Civil Rights Movement in America. The collection
will form the world's largest archive of personal accounts of
America's struggle for justice and equality and will be permanently
housed at the Library of Congress. To add your story contact Voices
of Civil Rights online at www.voicesofcivilrights.org.
|