The Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. has an exhibition entitled "Field To Factory," which documents the Great Migration of African Americans to the northern states during the first half of the Twentieth Century. To illustrate the segregation experienced by African Americans in the South, the exhibition funnels visitors through two doorways, one marked "Colored" and the other "White."

In early April, I was pushing my infant son in his stroller through this exhibit when a young African American security guard walked past us. As the guard neared the two doorways, it looked for a moment as if she would walk through the doorway marked "Colored." At the last moment, she took a deliberate detour of a few steps in order to walk through the "White" doorway.

The security guard's silent action made me think. Racial prejudice remains a painful reality in America, so painful that the security guard walked out of her way to avoid walking through a "Colored" doorway that is meant to demonstrate and criticize past segregation. This special issue is meant to commemorate a bright moment in our nation's racial history: the fiftieth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. But even though a seminal decision overturning state-sanctioned segregation in education is a fitting occasion for celebration, articles in this issue demonstrate that our nation's racial progress has been painful. McGeorge Professor Brian K. Landsberg describes the response of lawyers to the Brown decision, including some actions that did not reflect too well on our profession. Deputy State Controller Windie O. Scott reflects upon her experiences in integrating a high school in Mississippi even a dozen years after Brown.

This issue also contains articles about the sons of two of the heroes of the Brown decision: Chief Justice Earl Warren and Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall. John Bachman has interviewed retired Sacramento Superior Court Judge Earl Warren, Jr. about his father's court's unanimous decision striking down the doctrine of "separate but equal" in education. Stacy Boulware Eurie has interviewed Thurgood Marshall, Jr. about his father and his father's legacy.

I would like to thank the authors who have done so much to bring this special issue to fruition. I would also like to thank Michelle Finerty and Shirley David for their assistance and advice in locating photos. Lastly, I would like to encourage you to attend the Judicial Council's May 17th symposium on Brown and the SCBA's reception. These events, described in SCBA President Joan Stone's President's Message and advertised on the back cover, will provide all of us with an excellent opportunity to reflect upon the continuing significance of Brown.