On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This momentous Supreme Court decision focused national attention on the practice of maintaining racially segregated public schools. The documentary presents the stories of the individuals, events, and circumstances that converged as the wheels of the legal system were set in motion. Bill Kurtis narrates, with featured readings by Walter Cronkite, Jim Lehrer, and Bill Moyers.