Rockville and the Road to Brown v. Board of Education
May 12, 2022 7 pm
Glenview Mansion
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Join Peerless Rockville and historian Ralph Buglass in-person at Glenview Mansion to learn how Rockville played an important role as one of the first steps toward overturning school segregation in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court Brown decision. The first case involving black and white teachers’ vastly unequal pay — brought by a young Thurgood Marshall and Rockville public school teacher — was heard in Rockville’s Grey Courthouse and proved foundational to Marshall’s larger strategy against unequal, separate schools. While the case here resulted in equal pay — and sparked similar cases elsewhere — the courageous teacher, William B. Gibbs Jr., was later fired. Today, commemorative artwork stands on a street in Rockville Town Square named for him. But like the case itself, too few people are aware of it — this richly illustrated talk details this remarkable story.