Monroe Elementary School

Brown Sites in Topeka

The old Monroe Elementary School Building was operated as one of four schools in Topeka for African American children up until 1954. This school was attended by children of three of the plaintiffs during the court proceedings in the Brown case: Oliver Brown's daughter Linda, Sadie Emmanuel's son James, and Vivian Scales daughter Ruth Ann. Oliver Brown's wife, Leola, had attended this school when it was a new building. His children attended this school, his grandchildren attended this school and his youngest daughter, Cheryl, taught here in 1972 before it closed. The school was closed in 1975 because of declining enrollment.

In the fall of 1991 the U.S. Dept. of Interior designated this building as a National Historic Landmark. On October 26, 1992, President Bush signed the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Act of 1992 establishing this school as a national park. Plans are underway to open the park in late 1997.

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