(1) On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court made a decision that would mark a defining moment in the history of the United States. This decision declared “separate but equal” unconstitutional. It was ultimately unanimous and came after a long and painstaking campaign to convince all nine justices to overturn the “separate but equal” doctrine that had been established in the infamous Plessy v. Justice case. Ferguson of 1896. The legal path opened in various aspects of racial discrimination in public life was the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Section I states that “no State shall. . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (Schimmel, Stellman, and Fischer 312) At one point, it was established that the actions of public officials and employees are state actions because public schools are state institutions. This is where Plessy v. Ferguson established separate but equal facilities that satisfied the amendment's clause. Between the two major cases of 1896 and 1954, there were numerous lawsuits challenging the separate but equal principle. This case discussed as the first influential case in the history of education in the United States is Brown v. Board of Education. Brown was not the only case to push for change, but rather one of five lawsuits against school districts. Thanks to the success of lawsuits challenging the doctrine in graduate and professional schools, it has been possible for these other cases to come forward. In this case, the court recognized what an important function education had become of state and local governments. They realized how education is the foundation on which good citizenship rests. In rejecting Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court ruled that “separate but equal” he… halfway through… must be one who neither promotes nor inhibits religion; and, finally, the statute must not encourage excessive government involvement with religion. After applying these tests, the Court can conclude whether the separation of church and state has been respected or not. In the Lemon v. Kurtzman was unanimous that both programs violated the cause of the establishment because they created excessive entanglement between a religious entity and the state. Works Cited Brown v. Board of Education. No. 347 US 483, 74 S. 686, 98. Ed. 873: 1954. First Amendment Schools. 2006. .LDF. December 15, 2013. Lemon vs. Kurtzman. No. 403 US 602. 1971.Schimmel, David, Leslie Robert Stellman, and Louis Fischer. Teachers and the law. Eighth edition. Pearson Education Inc, 2011.