Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954, triggered years of continued litigation related to the issue of desegregation of public schools throughout the United States. Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County (1964), a case decided 10 years after Brown, reflects the nature of some of this litigation, particularly cases involving a number of states that sought alternative educational methods to avoid compliance with Brown. At issue in Griffin was whether states that close their public schools and use public funds to support private, segregated schools are acting constitutionally and consistently with the Brown decision. The Supreme Court forcefully rejected this strategy.