The Supreme Court was important in both suppressing and aiding the civil rights movement. However, decisions made by the President, continued white opposition, and improved communications in the media also had an effect. While all were important, the civil rights movement alone would have achieved the same result without the help of the Supreme Court, and the devotion of its many members and leaders is the primary factor in the advancement of civil rights. The Supreme Court is perhaps best known for its Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. In ruling that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, Kevern Verney states that there was a "direct reversal of the Plessy ruling..."1 of 58 years earlier . It was Plessy who gave Southern states the authority to continue persecuting African Americans for the next sixty years. Brown's first positive was the effective integration of black and white students in the schools. Unfortunately, this has not been achieved to an adequate extent, as many local authorities have not felt obliged to change the status quo. The Supreme Court issued a second ruling, the so-called Brown 2, in 1955. This supported the idea that integration should proceed "with all deliberate speed", but James T. Patterson tells us that already in 1964 "only about '1.2% of black children... attended public schools with white children'2. This shows that although the Supreme Court was working for civil rights, it was still unable to force change agree, stating that the Supreme Court “has not done enough to ensure compliance”3. However, Patterson goes on to say that “the case has had some impact”4. He explains how the ruling, while often ignored, has acted “relatively quickly in most cases at the border… in the middle of the day…” 23 Mark Rathbone, The United States Supreme Court and Civil Rights, History Today v. Board, p. 10. 25 Mark Rathbone, The United States Supreme Court and Civil Rights, History Today 26 The Troubled Legacy of Brown v. Board, James T. Patterson, p. 6. 27 Martha Gellhorn, Justice at Night, The Spectator 1936 28 Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name, p.7 29 Paterson and Willoughby, Civil Rights in the USA, 1863-1980, p.200. 30 Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name, p.53. 31 Mark Rathbone, 20th Century History Review, The Presidency of the United States. 32 Mark Rathbone, 20th Century History Review, The Presidency of the United States. 33 Clive Webb, Modern History Review, The Ku Klux Klan. 34 Clive Webb, Modern History Review, The Ku Klux Klan. 35 John A. Kirk, History Toady volume 52 number 2, The Long Road to Equality for African Americans