Guide to Brown v Board of Education National Historical Park
We spent Christmas with family in Topeka, Kansas. And as National Park lovers, we immediately knew we would visit the Brown v Board of Education National Historical Park in the capital city.
I was completely onboard, but some other family members were less excited about the visit. Fortunately, the park site not only met my expectations, but pleasantly exceeded all of our expectations. Our visit to the park site was one of our most unforgettable experiences.
Meaning, we are so excited to share this guide to the Brown v Board of Education National Historical Park with you.
About Brown v Board of Education National Historical Park
The park site commemorates the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1954 that declared segregated schools unconstitutional.
The decision resulted from a lawsuit filed against the Topeka School District after it refused to enroll a black student in the school closest to her home. The student instead had to ride a bus to a more distant segregated school, which was legal under the Supreme Court’s 1896 Plessy v Ferguson decision allowing for “separate but equal” accommodations for whites versus people of color.
The Supreme Court Justices unanimously reversed that earlier decision, desegregating all U.S. public schools.
Where is the Park Site?
Brown v Board of Education National Historical Park is inside the former Monroe Elementary School building in downtown Topeka. The schoolhouse is about one mile from the state capital building, and you can see the capital building’s impressive dome from the site.
The Monroe Elementary School was one of the blacks-only schools in Topeka. After the schools were desegregated, the Monroe school closed. It was acquired as the location for the National Park Site, which opened in 2004.
How Much Does it Cost and What Are the Hours?
The Brown v Board of Education National Historical Site is free to visit.
They do have a gift shop on site with various souvenirs for purchase.
The site is open Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Sundays, Mondays, and Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s days.
Welcome to Brown v Board of Education NHP
Upon entering the school building, we were greeted by one of two Park Rangers. The Ranger gave us and one more group a brief introduction to the site, explaining a little of the history of the building and the Supreme Court case.
He then gave us a lay of the land, explaining that the first floor contained all of the rooms and displays open to us.
The ground floor offered four rooms to visit. Before us, lay the auditorium which plays a 30-minute video “Race and the American Creed.” Outside the auditorium was a table set up for us to procure our National Park Passport stamps.
To our right was the “Road to Brown” exhibit room. Here we witnessed history of slavery and segregation in the U.S.
To our left was the Legacy of Brown exhibit, exploring civil rights and equality struggles post Brown v Board of Education.
We also found the kindergarten room to the left of the entrance. The kindergarten room interested us most, so we journeyed there first.
The Kindergarten Room
At the end of the hallway, we entered the kindergarten room. The room is basically a reconstruction of what the room would have looked like in 1953, before the Supreme Court ruling.
Honestly, the room looks life most kindergarten rooms would have looked at that time. You find small wooden desks for the students. A teacher’s desk is located predominately at the front of the room.
There are play areas with blocks, dolls, and puzzles. Sitting on a bookcase is a globe with a picture of President Washington nearby.
Hanging next to the piano is a picture of President Eisenhower, who spent his boyhood down the road in Kansas.
But this room also has reminders that it is a segregated classroom. You discover pictures of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, famously involved in the struggles for equality for black people.
We also read a sobering letter written to kindergarten teacher Darla Buchanan from the Superintendent of the Public Schools of Topeka, advising her that she would lose her position should the Brown v Board of Education decision end segregation. The letter states that there is an “assumption that the majority of people in Topeka will not want to employ negro teachers next year for white students.”
Road to Brown Exhibit Hall
In retrospect, after visiting the park site, I realized that our journey should have started in either the Auditorium or the Road to Brown Gallery.
The exhibit hall traces some of the history of slavery in the U.S. beginning before the colonies became a nation up to the 1930s and 1940s.
The story is told through pictures, texts, disturbing video, and other visual aids.
You find manacles used to handcuff slaves onboard ships from Africa and at auction blocks.
We played an interactive game to discover what buildings and public spaces were segregated during the era of Plessy v Ferguson.
And there is video of heinous acts of violence against blacks, including hangings and acts from the KKK and other groups.
It was often difficult to witness some of these displays. But, it was essential to witness those displays in order to see just how groundbreaking the 1954 decision was for the country and its people.
Legacy of Brown Exhibit Hall
Brown v Board of Education may have ended segregation in public schools, but it did not immediately lead to full civil rights for American citizens.
That journey is displayed in the Legacy of Brown Galleries. We saw the road from Brown to the Civil Rights Act, signed 10 years later in 1964.
This hall also shows some of the struggles for equality in the United States and throughout the world. The gallery is replete with images those fighting for equal rights. We listened to subversive music written and performed to raise awareness of the struggle.
A video allowed us to reflect on how inequality may still be at play in the 21st Century.
And visitors are given an opportunity to write on post it notes how they think they can fight against inequality.
Auditorium
We concluded our tour of the park site at the Auditorium.
In the auditorium, “Race and the American Creed,” a 30-minute video, plays on repeat. The video discusses the history of racism and segregation in the United States.
We didn’t spend a lot of time in the auditorium, and did not fully watch the movie. We had spent a lot of time in the other rooms of the school.
Final Thoughts
Our visit to the Brown v Board of Education National Historical Park was deeply impactful to all of us. Slavery and segregation in the United States is a troubling stain on its history. The visit to the site was a meaningful and at times harsh reminder of that disturbing history.
Throughout the galleries and displays, we were reminded of the vast inequality and injustice that people of color faced then and still endure today. It brought to light the import of the unanimous 1954 decision and made us truly ponder how inequality can still play out today.
As I said, there was some pushback among family members initially to our visit to the park. It may not seem as thrilling as looking out over a massive waterfall or watching an erupting volcano at some of our other National Park sites.
However, upon arriving and soberly walking among the displays, that pushback disappeared.
Our family was deeply moved by our stop at Brown v Board of Education National Historical Park. We are forever changed by the experience. We cannot more highly recommend a visit to this park if you are anywhere near Topeka.
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