On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic ruling in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this milestone, the Community Idea Stations are offering two special television programs that look at this case from its hard-fought history to its impact decades later.
More than 10 years since its debut on PBS, “The Road to Brown” returns to WHTJ Charlottesville PBS on May 6 at 10 p.m. Created by the late William Elwood, U.Va. professor and civil rights activist, this one-hour documentary tells the story of the ground-breaking legal assault led by a daring black lawyer named Charles Hamilton Houston. His efforts, and those of attorneys like Thurgood Marshall who assisted him,
resulted in the landmark Brown decision and helped launch the Civil Rights Movement.

Emmy Award-winning director Stanley Nelson examines the
legal battle that ended school segregation in “Beyond Brown:
Pursuing the Promise.” This new program looks at the ruling’s history and explores the impact and influence of the decision years later — including contemporary debates on student tracking, high-stakes testing, school financing and busing. It airs on WHTJ on May 12 at 10 p.m.