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within her home soon after her marriage. The
Hendersons had two children, Donald Henderson and Vicki Henderson, who were bused to a segregated, all black school on the other side of the city of Topeka. This discrimination angered Henderson, who had been educated in integrated schools as a child.
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She was survived by her son, Donald, five grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren. Her husband, Andrew
Henderson, died in 1971 and their daughter, Vicki, died in 1984.
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wrote for the unanimous majority decision, "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," in agreement with
Henderson and the other plaintiff's original suit.
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and 12 women, including Zelma
Henderson, to serve as plaintiffs in the case. Henderson quickly agreed. In the case, whose full name was
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The 1951 ruling was appealed to the United States
Supreme Court after it was combined with four similar cases originating from the
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Henderson became involved in the legal fight against the city's segregated schools in 1950, when the local Topeka chapter of the
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Topeka
Capital-Journal: Many people part of local case: Thirteen parents representing 20 children signed up as Topeka plaintiffs
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against the Topeka public school system. The NAACP asked 13 parents of
African American public school students, which included
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558:"Zelma's 'little bit' in the fight against segregation (Zelma Henderson, Who Aided Desegregation, Dies at 88)"
449:. The United States Supreme Court unanimously struck down school segregation in its decision on May 17, 1954.
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position in the city due to her race. She was instead offered domestic work, such as a housekeeper or maid.
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Henderson appeared in numerous events commemorating the decision throughout her life. In a 1994
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in Kansas. The U.S. District Court ruled against the plaintiffs, citing the 1896 "
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Henderson married her husband, Andrew
Henderson, in 1943. She opened her own
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in towns with a population of 15,000 or more could be racially
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601:"Last Brown v. Board of Ed Plaintiff, Zelma Henderson, Dies"
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Zelma
Henderson died in Topeka, Kansas, at the age of 88 of
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on May 20, 2008. She was the last survivor of the original
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Oliver L. Brown et al. v. the Board of
Education of Topeka
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National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
232:(February 29, 1920 – May 20, 2008) was the last surviving
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School Integration: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
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families living in Colby at the time. Her parents grew
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listed on the plaintiff's side of the original case.
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727:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in the United States
418:" ruling by the United States Supreme Court in
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51:introducing citations to additional sources
712:United States school desegregation case law
261:. The ruling served as a harbinger of the
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41:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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462:interview, she told the interviewing
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340:Hurst encountered much more blatant
629:. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
623:Klein, Rebecca T. (15 July 2014).
297:for a living. The family moved to
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443:under the shortened case name of
34:relies largely or entirely on a
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702:American civil rights activists
570:from the original on 2023-10-22
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707:American anti-racism activists
385:(NAACP) began preparing for a
348:when she moved to the city of
263:American Civil Rights Movement
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697:School desegregation pioneers
16:American activist (1920–2008)
722:Deaths from cancer in Kansas
412:United States District Court
301:, when she was still young.
480:Brown v. Board of Education
446:Brown v. Board of Education
335:Brown v. Board of Education
310:at the time permitted that
246:Brown v. Board of Education
187:Brown v. Board of Education
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737:People from Oakley, Kansas
717:People from Topeka, Kansas
265:and paved the way for the
732:People from Colby, Kansas
579:The Sydney Morning Herald
451:Chief Justice Earl Warren
399:, Henderson was the last
253:nationwide in all of the
267:Civil Rights Act of 1964
356:, but could not find a
330:throughout the state.
277:Henderson was born as
236:in the 1954 landmark
429:District of Columbia
249:. The case outlawed
241:school desegregation
47:improve this article
459:Dallas Morning News
368:She later told the
655:archive.boston.com
599:Journal, A. B. A.
563:The New York Times
421:Plessy v. Ferguson
416:separate but equal
312:elementary schools
279:Zelma Cleota Hurst
128:Zelma Cleota Hurst
476:pancreatic cancer
387:class action suit
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138:February 29, 1920
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556:(2008-05-24).
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36:single source
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155:(2008-05-20)
153:May 20, 2008
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692:2008 deaths
687:1920 births
605:ABA Journal
346:segregation
293:and raised
251:segregation
681:Categories
574:2023-10-22
489:References
328:integrated
316:segregated
273:Early life
169:Occupation
134:1920-02-29
103:March 2018
73:newspapers
376:interview
308:state law
234:plaintiff
182:plaintiff
43:talk page
568:Archived
464:reporter
437:Virginia
433:Delaware
358:clerical
220:Children
172:Activist
408:lawsuit
238:federal
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87:scholar
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401:et al.
374:in an
354:typist
305:Kansas
295:cattle
243:case,
194:Spouse
163:, U.S.
144:, U.S.
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470:Death
291:wheat
208:(
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94:JSTOR
80:books
631:ISBN
439:and
406:The
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150:Died
124:Born
66:news
322:or
281:in
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