Belton and Bulah VS. Gebhart: The Fight to End School Segregation in Delaware

Belton and Bulah VS. Gebhart: The Fight to End School Segregation in Delaware

In 1954, five cases involving segregation in schools arrived at the Supreme Court, joined together under Brown vs. the Board of Education. Two of those cases originated in Delaware. Hear the story of how Belton Versus Gebhart and Buelah vs Gebhart shaped the course of history. While the court’s ruling in Brown did not result in immediate school integration, it fueled a civil rights movement that led to the disillusion of Jim Crow laws and eventually to the end of segregated education in the United States. The fight for equity in public education continues today in Delaware, where concerned educators and legislators have formed the Redding Consortium, named in honor of civil rights attorney Louis Redding. Be sure to check out our digital exhibition, Forging Faith, Building Freedom, browse our collections, watch Journey to Freedom: Exhibition Tour, or come see Journey to Freedom and other exhibitions by visiting the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage

“Belton and Bulah VS. Gebhart: The Fight to End School Segregation in Delaware” is part of Speaking of Delaware…, a series of short videos presented by the Delaware Historical Society and produced by Short Order Production House. Videos premiere the first Thursday of every month on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and our website. This series is funded in part by the Longwood Foundation, Delmarva Power, an Exelon Company, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and by a grant from Delaware Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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