Programs

Brown v Board of Education: Its Promises, Its Failures and Its Successes

A "Brown v Board"  Context and Legacy Presentation

When the Brown v Board of Education decision came down in 1954, part of American society rejoiced in the possibility of the end of inequality; part sought actively to subvert the Brown decision. This lecture by Walter Leonard examines the landmark decision, its history and impact. Sponsoring organizations may request the speaker to focus on one of three areas: The Road to Brown from 1852 to 1954; The Brown Decisions 1954 and 1955 and Its Immediate Impact; or The Brown Decision Fifty Years Later with Some Prognostication about the Future. Adult audiences

Walter J. Leonard is a distinguished scholar and former president of Fisk University. He served as Special Assistant to the President of Harvard University and was Assistant Dean of both the Howard University School of Law and the Harvard University Law School. He was the founding chairman of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University. Dr. Leonard has published widely and has served on the boards of major foundations, educational institutions, and corporations. He attended Morehouse College, Atlanta University’s Graduate School of Business, the Howard University School of Law, and the Harvard University Business School. In recent years Dr. Leonard has been elected a Visiting Scholar of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, and recently elected an Honorary Member of Wolfson College, University of Oxford. The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies has created two special Fellowships to be held at the Centre in honor of Dr. Walter J. Leonard.