This week (May 13-19) in 1954…
On Monday, May 17th, the Supreme Court of these United States decided the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case. This landmark ruling will have impacts that echo from sea to shining sea. The decision was unanimous in stating that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. This goes against the doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson which established the so-called separated but equal clause.
The case stems from a class action suit filed against the Topeka, Kansas Board of Education. Senator Byrd in Virginia is organizing a movement opposed to the decision, but many others are accepting it.
Madrid created the Latin Union on Saturday. This pan-national Union is a grouping of countries that speak the Romance Languages of Italian, French, Spanish, Portugeus, and Romanian. Is has yet to be seen how many nations around the world will join this group.
The Japanese film The Saga of Anatahan was released in the United States on Monday. This film, directed by Josef von Sternberg, is about twelve men shipwrecked on a desert island only inhabited by two other souls: A farmer and a beautiful woman.
Musty Musketeers, a Three Stooges short, debuted last Thursday. In this, the Stooges are kept from marrying their girls by Old King Cole.