The Little Girl Who Helped Desegregate Iowa Schools in 1868

The Bravest Girl You’ve Ever Seen by Joshalyn Hickey-Johnson beautifully simplifies for young readers a decades-long struggle for civil rights in a period before, during, and after the Civil War. It offers an imagined glimpse into the true story of Susan Clark and her family, who overcame barriers to equal access to education, desegregating Iowa schools in 1868—nearly 90 years before the US Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.

Susan Clark was just 13 when she became the first Black student in the United States to integrate a public school through a court order. Her lawsuit, decided by the Iowa Supreme Court in 1868, gave all Iowa children the right to attend public school regardless of race, religion, nationality, or any other distinction. Segregated schools were the norm in many states until the 1954 US Supreme Court ruling. Susan’s case contributed to that landmark decision.