The Road to Brown

Matt Altstiel

Afro 3866
9/19/05

Finally, Some Recognition

The film “The Road to Brown” shed light on one of the lesser known, but vastly important civil rights leaders who led the crusade against Jim Crow. After experiencing discrimination in all sectors of life and seeing increasing violence directed at African Americans in the post-World War One years, Houston took up the cause of improving the lives of African Americans. Taking on the inequality of segregation one case at a time, the tireless efforts of Houston led to the landmark case of Brown Vs. the Topeka Board of Education. The unanimous decision rendered by the Supreme Court banned segregation at levels of education in the entire nation.

For a man who was so influential and helped set the civil rights struggle in motion, I was amazed I had never heard of the man. Most students in the class either had never heard the name or did not known the contributions made by Houston to end legalized segregation. A contemporary of A. Phillip Randolph as well as Marcus Garvey, I was surprised Houston had never been mentioned in textbooks throughout middle school, high school and college thus far. Thurgood Marshall received the majority of the credit for the Brown V. Board decision, however it was his mentor Houston who laid the foundation and the precedent needed to allow for the successful outcome of the case. If Houston had lived to participate in the lawsuit perhaps he would have received the historical importance his name deserves. One thing is certain however; when teaching the roots and causes of the civil rights struggle, one should not solely begin with the Birmingham Bus Boycott and end with the death of Dr. King. Tireless leaders like Houston, who literally died for the cause of his people, should be celebrated and revered like the forefathers of the country, who likewise broke free from tradition to challenge an oppressive system.