Anniversaries give us a way of capturing memory. May 17 is a day I annually observe. It is the date that the Supreme Court handed down their decision on Brown v. Board of Education. I can remember as a college freshman, having just begun reading the New York Times regularly, my excitement at reading the news story and Chief Justice Warren's short opinion for the whole Court which the Times reprinted. Warren's sentence that stays with me is that: "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
This is also the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides that WETA will recognize as part of the American Experience story on May 16 at 9 p.m.
There is magnificent historical literature available on Brown and on the civil rights movement in general. These books deserve to be remembered as we fight off our propensity for historical amnesia. Here are a few essential books:
