In Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark decision made by the Supreme Court in 1954 declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This case consolidated several lawsuits challenging segregation, most notably involving Linda Brown, a young African American girl denied admission to a white school. The Court unanimously ruled that "separate but equal" educational facilities were inherently unequal, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This ruling effectively overturned the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld segregation, and marked a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement, inspiring further efforts toward desegregation and equality.