In 1954, the United States Supreme Court handed down the unanimous, landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision that rocked the nation to its core by proclaiming "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The established doctrine of "separate but equal" in public education was rejected, ending 60 years of legal separation of the races in public schools. The ramifications for the Jim Crow South were staggering and, for some, unthinkable.