Legal historian and attorney Charles S. Johnson, III breaks down the beginnings of the four cases that were part of the Brown decision and talks about all the lawyers who were involved in this historic decision.

The case of Brown v. Board of Education is perhaps the best-known lawsuit from the civil rights era. But how it started – and what it really meant – remains a mystery to this day.

Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, the American south was a cauldron of conflict. The civil rights movement was in its prime and the legal efforts to protect rights were front and center. This episode of Hidden Legal Figures is adapted from our educational program that was a part of the annual meeting of the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents in Atlanta, Georgia.

Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, the American south was a cauldron of conflict. The civil rights movement was in its prime and the legal efforts to protect rights were front and center. This episode of Hidden Legal Figures is adapted from our educational program that was a part of the annual meeting of the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents in Atlanta, Georgia.

"The law," said Woodrow Wilson, "is the crystallization of the habit and thought of society." Throughout our nation's history, our habits and thoughts often have been in conflict with each other and much of the American story is about how we have worked to resolve that tension. This episode explains why we are focusing on the work of lawyers and judges during the civil rights movement.