One child's impact on American history

Plus: The U.S. Census and a mystery solved |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. SUBSCRIBE to TIME Magazine March 29, 2018 By Lily Rothman Linda Brown was only a third-grader at the start of the lawsuit that would become the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. But, though her father was the force behind the school desegregation suit, her death last weekend was a reminder of just how much one child's impact can be felt. As historian Mary Frances Berry told TIME, the Brown case set important legal precedent, lifted a heavy stigma and galvanized a movement—even though, ironically, in the long run, it actually didn't lead to the full integration of American schools. In fact, James Meredith, the first African-American student at Ole Miss, told us he feels that in many respects "Brown never happened." You can click here to read more from Meredith on Linda Brown's legacy and the unfulfilled promise of the case. Here's more of the history that made news this week: HISTORY ON TIME.COM John Lewis on Martin Luther King Jr.'s Greatest Gift to Us "I do not know how my life would have been without Dr. King" The New Citizenship Question Isn't the First Census Fight Here's why the count has always been controversial What People Said About Viagra When It Was First Released On March 27, 1998, the FDA approved "a little package of dynamite" called Viagra Solving the Mystery of the Missing Man From a WWII Cruiser New research has led historians to revise downward the count of those killed in the U.S. Navy's worst-ever disaster at sea Dolores Huerta on Labor History and Women 'Getting Credit' She coined the slogan "Yes, we can" FROM THE TIME VAULT Today in 1999: The Century’s Greatest Minds “This is the century that split the atom, probed the psyche, spliced genes and cloned a sheep. It invented plastic, radar and the silicon chip. It built airplanes, rockets, satellites, televisions, computers and atom bombs. It overthrew our inherited ideas about logic, language, learning, mathematics, economics and even space and time. And behind each of these great ideas, great discoveries and great inventions is, in most cases, one extraordinary human mind.“ (March 29, 1999) Read the full story Today in 1954: Jonas Salk vs. Polio “This spring, Dr. Salk's vision and his delicate laboratory procedures and logarithmic calculations are to be put to the test. Beginning next month in the South and working North ahead of the polio season, the vaccine that Salk has devised and concocted will be shot into the arms of 500,000 to 1.000,000 youngsters in the first, second and third grades in nearly 200 chosen test areas. A few months after the 1954 polio season is over, statisticians will dredge from a mountain of records an answer to the question: Does the Salk vaccine give effective protection against polio?” (March 29, 1954) Read the full story Today in 1937: “Cat Man” “Padding about uncertainly in the tumbled sawdust of the big cage, the last three or four lions responded to a cue from outside the bars, wheeled and sped toward the runway leading to their own cages. The crowd that packed Manhattan's cavernous Hippodrome one night last week was up in its seats, streaming toward the exits past the array of jabbering freaks in the lobby. And ducking into the wings with the last salvo of applause still drumming in his ears a small man, in a shirt and breeches that had once been spotless white, shouldered through a clutter of clowns, girls, circus hands and hangers-on, scurried up a spiral staircase to his dressing-room. He was streaked and spattered with muck from head to foot. Sweat trickled down his nose and cheeks, dripped from his chin. As he collapsed into a chair while an attendant pulled off the dusty boots, Clyde Beatty, the most celebrated trainer of lions and tigers in the world and part owner of the newest and most extraordinary U. S. circus, honestly sighed: ‘It's good to sit down!’” (March 22, 1937) Read the full story HIGHLIGHTS FROM AROUND THE WEB The Hidden Past Jane Perlez at the New York Times has this fascinating profile of Chinese historian Shen Zhihua, who is trying to convince his country’s leaders that they have nothing to fear if they open their archives to researchers like him. Written by the Victors Joshua Rapp Learn at Smithsonian.com takes a look at how modern genetic and linguistic research is calling into question the narrative of South American history that was passed down from Spanish conquerors. Shoddy Science As a counterpoint to the above, this editorial in the journal Nature questions how historians are using new DNA research and cautions against its misuse. Re-Interpreted Zoë Beery at The Outline profiles Cheyney McKnight, who is one of the relatively few black people who work as re-enactors or interpreters at American historical sites that address slavery. Diverse Views In an op-ed for The Chronicle of Higher Education, historian Priya Satia argues that historians must work to end the dominance of “a cloistered group of white men” when it comes to history’s influence on the modern world. To Unsubscribe Unsubscribe here if you do not want to receive this newsletter. Update Email Click here to update your email address. Privacy Policy Please read our Privacy Policy. TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. 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