Greensboro, N.C.
Daughters of Brown vs. Board Plaintiff speak at Guilford
D'Nise Williams
Staff Writer
I can still remember starting
A. that bitter walk and the terrible
cold that would freeze my tears," said
Linda Brown Thompson. "Often times
I'd return home unable to complete the
1 mile journey, every inch of my little
body numb with cold."
Thompson is the daughter of the
Late Rev. Oliver L. Brown of Topeka,
Kan., who was the first named Plaintiff
in the case resulting in the Supreme
Court decision to ban segregation in
elementary level schools.
Thompson and her sister, Cheryl
Brown Henderson, spoke Nov. 17 at 7
p.m. in Dana Auditorium. The event
was held in commemoration of the fifti
eth anniversary of the landmark deci
sion.
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme
Court announced, "separate educa-
Guilford bookstore gets new manager and new style
TALEISHA BOWEN/GUILFORDIAN
Display at the bookstore
Reconciliation Founders g optimism basketball
Pages 6 and 7 Page 8 Page 11 Page 12
tional facilities are inherently unequal."
This ruling effectively denied the legal
basis for segregation in Kansas and
20 other states with segregated class
rooms. overturning the 1892 Plessy vs.
Ferguson ruling and forever changing
race relations.
In the early 19505, racial segrega
tion in public schools was the norm
across America. Although all the
schools in a given district were sup
posed to be equal, most black schools
were far inferior to that of whites.
Brown vs. Board began when third
grader Linda Brown was forced to walk
a mile, through a railroad switchyard,
to get to her black school - even
though a white school was only four
blocks away. Rev. Brown tried to enrol!
Linda into the white elementary school,
but the principal of the school refused.
"My father pondered why -- why his
daughter had to fight the harsh ele
ments and travel so far each day to
Volume 91, Issue 12
www.guilfordian.com
receive that
education that
was rightfully
hers," said
Thompson.
"Why black
people could
live all over
town but not
send their chil
dren to the
schools closest
to them."
Frustrated,
Brown went to
McKinley
Burnett, head
of Topeka's
branch of the
National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) and asked
for help.
Nearly 200 other black parents
Deidre Rhim
Staff Writer
Matt Walker, previously
the assistant manag
er of the bookstore at Elon
College, joined the Guilford
community in early November.
He brings five years of experi
ence from managing numer
ous Barnes and Noble college
bookstores to the job. He
says, "I am looking forward to
many wonderful years on
campus."
Walker has a staff of four
employees, including textbook
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D'NISE WILLIAMS/GUILFORDIAN
Linda Brown Thompson and Cheryl Brown Henderson
spoke in Dana on the Nov. 17 anniversary of the landmark
Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court case
manager Mellony Dargan,
who Walker described as his
right hand.
Walker intends to make a
plethora of changes. "My goal
is to make the bookstore and
myself as visible on campus
as possible," said Walker. In
addition to requesting more
students' input by meeting
with student organizations,
and adding more student
workers, Walker plans to hold
various raffles, contests and
giveaways throughout the
coming academic semesters.
Students are encouraged to
November 19, 2004
joined the Browns and in 1951 the
NAACP requested an injunction that
would forbid the segregation of
Continued on Page 2
participate in the effort and
become "educated about
Follett."
On Nov. 18 the bookstore
supported the Grill's grand
opening by offering raffles and
giveaways. On Dec. 1 faculty
and staff will get an extra 10%
off of purchases for
Appreciation Day. During
exam week, which Walker
says is the best time for stu
dents to sell books back,
Coca-Cola will be sponsoring
buyback and they plan to raf-
Continued on Page 3