The Urban History Seminar series feature a scholarly presentation followed by lively discussion. Tikia K. Hamilton, assistant professor of history at Loyola University Chicago, presents “Before Brown v. Board of Education.”

Many are familiar with the unprecedented 1954 ruling, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which suspended the practice of legal segregation in the United States. However, few know the history of the decades leading up to Brown, a history filled with strategic and ideological differences and compromises between the parents, teachers, students, educational leaders, and civil rights organizations that led the various desegregation campaigns. In this discussion, Dr. Hamilton will focus specifically on the nation’s capital as a way to recapture the unfamiliar pre-history of Brown.

The Zoom session will open at 6:45 p.m. with the program starting at 7:00 p.m. and concluding by 8:15 p.m. RSVP is required.

This session is free of charge; we would greatly appreciate a donation to the Museum in any amount. A Zoom link will be provided after registration.

The Urban History Seminars have been generously underwritten by the Chicago History Museum since 1983.