His father fought the battle of desegregation in America’s schools as one on the lead attorneys in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. Today Charles Scott Jr. is worried that the current administration is more focused on test scores than aiding less fortunate children.

Students at the University of Kansas filled the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics last night as they listened to Scott, 50 years after the landmark Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

Scott discussed the history of the lawyers that helped file the suit, the general history of the case and what Americans, and specifically college students, can do to continue the fight for equality.

“This case served as a cornerstone for the freedom America stands for in the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence,” Scott said.

Brown v. Topeka Board of Education was legally challenged by many lawyers throughout its years in courts. Scott’s father and grandfather were the main litigators in the case.

Linda Brown and her family sued the board of education because the Separate but Equal doctrine was unconstitutional. The court agreed.

The decision started a chain reaction that eliminated the doctrine.

Although the court did find in favor of the plaintiffs, Scott said that the decision may not have desegregated the community.

“This case was a benchmark for later civil rights cases,” Scott said. “But did the case change the outcome for African-American children? I think the answer is certainly not.”

African-American children are still not as well educated as their white counterparts, Scott said. The decision, and subsequent decisions, have not addressed the issue of poverty.

“Poverty is the great divider,” he said. “If your worried about where you are going to live or when you will be able to eat, education is a luxury.”

The No Child Left Behind Act does not look out for all children, Scott said.

He challenged students to get involved in mentoring and teaching children of poorer backgrounds.

“Education is definitely affected by the government,” said Erica Hunter, Lawrence senior. “Students should help, even if it is something as small as donating a few bucks or an hour of your time.”

Students and all American citizens need to look at the problem and help the people that were supposed to be aided by the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, Hunter said.

“Really we need to look at whose writing the laws,” Hunter said. “Environment affects children’s learning and if the schools cannot help, one person really can.”

Civil rights cases were fought by attorney Elijah Scott, his grandfather, since the early 1920s. Elijah Scott tried cases from the Tulsa Holocaust to one of the initial law suits against school segregation, Webb v. the Mariam School District.

After 30 years of experience in civil rights cases Elijah, and son Charles Scott Sr., looked for families to volunteer to sue the Topeka School Board.

More than 21 children and their families were recruited for the law suit. The name “Brown” was used for the title of the case because it was the first name alphabetically.

The families and their lawyers, with the Scotts as the leaders, filed suit in Federal District Court but failed to convince the judges of their claim. After the disappointing decision the Scotts filed a motion with the Supreme Court and were granted a hearing. The justices heard the case and gave the historical ruling for the families and their children.