Question

which excerpt from the passage most likely had the strongest impact on public education and national policies?
a. these cases come to us from the states of kansas, south carolina, virginia, and delaware. (paragraph 1)
b. there are findings below that the negro and white schools involved have been equalized, or are being equalized, with respect to buildings, curricula, qualifications and salaries of teachers, and other \tangible\ factors. (paragraph 4)
c. in approaching this problem, we cannot turn the clock back to 1868, when the amendment was adopted, or even to 1896, when plessy v. ferguson was written. (paragraph 5)
d. separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. (paragraph 9)

Explanation:

This question refers to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Option A only lists the origin states of the cases, with no policy impact. Option B notes tangible equalization of school resources, but this does not address the core inequality of segregation. Option C rejects past segregationist precedents but is not the decisive, impactful conclusion. Option D is the landmark holding that declared segregated schools inherently unequal, directly overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine and driving massive changes in public education policy and desegregation nationwide.

Answer:

D. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. (paragraph 9)