Thurgood Marshall argues consolidated school segregation cases before Supreme Court as Truman DOJ files first executive brief supporting desegregation

The Supreme Court consolidated five school segregation cases — Brown v. Board (Kansas), Briggs v. Elliott (South Carolina), Davis v. County School Board (Virginia), Gebhart v. Belton (Delaware), and Bolling v. Sharpe (Washington, D.C.) — and heard three days of oral argument beginning December 9, 1952. Thurgood Marshall argued that segregation stamped Black children with a badge of inferiority condemned by the 14th Amendment; John W. Davis, the 1924 Democratic presidential nominee, argued for South Carolina that Plessy v. Ferguson was settled constitutional law. The Truman Justice Department filed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs — the first time a sitting president's DOJ had formally asked the Court to strike down racial segregation in public schools.