What was the main ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education?

The main ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education was that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. This landmark decision, issued by the Supreme Court in 1954, directly challenged the legality of racial segregation in educational institutions. The Court determined that separate educational facilities for racial minorities and whites were inherently unequal, and therefore violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

By declaring segregation unconstitutional, the Court not only overturned the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which upheld "separate but equal" facilities, but also ignited the civil rights movement across the United States. This ruling affirmed the principle that all children, regardless of race, deserve equal access to quality education and marked a critical turning point in the fight against racial discrimination in America.