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Brown v. Board of Education Mural in Topeka, Kansas

Library of Congress

In May of 2010, then Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson signed Senate Bill 54, enacted by the state legislature to create a mural for the State Capitol Building to commemorate the landmark United States Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. The State Capitol Preservation Committee was given the responsibility of planning for the mural. Input from various stakeholders helped guide the selection of an artist to design paint the mural and the selection of which wall within the building would become its permanent home.

Creating the mural took nearly a decade and began when Shawnee, Kansas resident Charles Jean-Baptist, the former State President of the Kansas NAACP, petitioned the State Legislature to pass a resolution for such a mural. His efforts were much like those of McKinley Burnett, local Topeka NAACP President during the late 1940s early 1950s, whose vision to bring about integration in public schools, resulted in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Oliver L. Brown et. al. vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, KS, et. al.

For Mr. Jean-Baptist, having a Brown v. Board of Education mural on the wall of the State Capitol Building where John Brown and other aspects of Kansas history reside, was simply the right thing to do. It would bring Kansas history, and the historic accomplishment of the NAACP, full circle.

During committee deliberation, members of the Brown Foundation, a member of the Brown family, an Associate Dean from Washburn University, a member of the State Board of Education, representatives of the NAACP and others provided public comment and were integral to the process of selecting an artist and an artistic concept. The Brown Foundation and a member of the Brown family shared historic background, testified to the significance of the Brown decision, and suggested ways of translating the historic narrative into art that would be a reminder that this mural tells the story of living people, several whom continue to reside in Topeka.

This U.S. Supreme Court decision is contemporary history that continues to resonate across the nation and around the world. Brown v. Board of Education is usually remembered for striking down the doctrine of “separate but equal” schools. But I believe the following excerpt from the fourteen-page opinion captures the ruling’s true meaning.

“[Education] is the most important function of state and local governments… It is doubtful that any child can be reasonably expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity… is a right that must be made available to all on equal terms.”

Kansas native Michael Young was the artist selected to create a Brown v. Board of Education mural. It was decided that the mural would be placed on the wall adjacent to the historic Kansas Supreme Court Room in the State’s Capitol Building. The room holds significance as the site of 11 school desegregation cases that predate the Brown decision.

In a newspaper account, Mr. young shared that he remembers visiting the state capitol in Topeka on a middle school field trip. Inside the rotunda, he was in awe as his eyes fixed on murals depicting significant moments in the state’s history on the walls of this prodigious house of government. Young remembers thinking, “I could never do anything like that”. In 2015 when he was selected to be the muralist, he is reported as saying, “This is a commission of a lifetime”.

For the Kansas NAACP and The Brown Foundation, it is an honor to be stewards for the legacy of the brave men, women and children who took a stand for social justice. We are proud of the Brown v. Board of Education mural which is a fitting legacy now gracing the hallowed halls of the Kansas State Capitol.

Cheryl Brown Henderson, Founding President

The Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research

A painted mural shows a teacher reading a book about Brown v. Board of Education to six students. All around them the background portrays various scenes from the fight for school equality.
Kansas City artist Michael Young’s Brown v. Boardof Education mural inside the Kansas Capital in Topeka, 2018.
Source: Library of Congress.
Kansas City artist Michael Young created the Brown v. Board of Education mural inside the Kansas Capitol in Topeka in 2018 to depict the legacy of the 1954 landmark U.S. Supreme Court desegregation case that had its roots in Topeka. The building, constructed in stages over 37 years (1866 to 1903), featured three sets of murals — the first painted over because they depicted nude female figures.

Featured in

  • Black‑and‑white photograph of a classroom filled with young students seated at wooden desks. Many students have one arm raised, as if responding to a question. In the foreground, one student sits at a desk facing the camera while others behind and to the sides raise their hands. The room includes a chalkboard or bulletin board along the back wall with several papers pinned up, a doorway at center-right, and large windows on the right side letting in light. Books and classroom materials are stacked near some desks, and the overall setting suggests an older, traditional schoolroom.

    Lesson Plan

    Separate & Unequal: Investigating the Road to Brown v. Board

    Students explore Investigation Stations to better understand the pivotal Brown v. Board of Education case that recognized the human and civil rights of all students by declaring school segregation unconstitutional.

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