The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. This landmark decision declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. The Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, unanimously held that segregation in education violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling was a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement, as it provided a legal foundation for challenging segregation and discrimination, signaling the beginning of efforts to desegregate schools and promote racial equality across the nation.