Alvin and Lucinda Todd family in Topeka, Kansas
Date: 1946
A photograph of the Todd family (left to right) Alvin, Nancy and Lucinda, taken in Topeka, Kansas. Lucinda Todd was a participant in the Brown vs Topeka Board of Education landmark U.S. Supreme Court case to desegregate schools. She was also the secretary of the Topeka NAACP which brought the Legal Defense Fund to Topeka.

Attorney Robert Carter to McKinley Burnett
Date: September 14, 1951
This letter dated September 14, 1951, is from NAACP Assistant Special Counsel Robert L. Carter to Topeka NAACP Chapter President McKinley Burnett. Carter advises Burnett that the National Chapter of the NAACP would require $5,000 to take the Brown case to the United States Supreme Court. However, Carter explained that the money would have to be raised locally and that nearby NAACP chapters could contribute if they so desired.

For the Negro Press: Suit Hits Separate Schools in Kansas
Creator: Todd, Lucinda Wilson, 1903-1996
Date: 1951
Copy of Lucinda Todd's 1951 handwritten news release outlining the legal actions underway, explaining the causes, and listing the names of the attorneys filing the actions associated with the effort of several Topeka families to have their children attend white schools.

Lucinda Todd: handwritten draft of the background of the Brown case
Date: 1950
A handwritten draft by Lucinda Todd, on the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education. This case led to a landmark ruling by the United States Supreme Court that ended school segregation.

Lucinda Todd to Walter White
Creator: Todd, Lucinda Wilson, 1903-1996
Date: August 29, 1950
First Letter from the Lucinda Todd, of the Topeka Chapter of the NAACP, to NAACP Executive Secretary Walter White. In the letter, Todd outlines the problems in Topeka and the fact that the Topeka Chapter of the NAACP wants to test the limits of Kansas law regarding segregated schools. The letter eventually led to the involvement of the NAACP and the arrival of the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and Executive team to the Todd home in Topeka for Brown case strategy sessions.

Nancy Jane Todd Noches
Date: 1950
This photograph shows Nancy Jane Todd Noches on the playground of Buchanan Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas. The daughter of Alvin and Lucinda Todd, her mother was the first parent to register as a plaintiff in the Brown v. Board of Education case. The suite asked the Topeka school district to verse their policy of racial segregation. The United State Supreme Court later "declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional."

Nancy Jane Todd Noches
Date: 1951
This photograph shows Nancy Jane Todd Noches during her school days in Topeka, Kansas. The daughter of Alvin and Lucinda Todd; her mother was the first parent to register as a plaintiff in the Brown v. Board of Education case. The suit asked the Topeka school district to reverse their policy of racial segregation. The United States Supreme Court later "declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional."

Speech, Des Moines, Iowa
Creator: Todd, Lucinda Wilson, 1903-1996
Date: 1953
Lucinda Todd made this speech in Des Moines, Iowa, on the background of the Brown v. Board segregation case. The primary goal of the speech was to raise funds for the attorneys fees required to take the case to the Supreme Court. The speech also provides an excellent recounting of the issues that spawned the Brown case, including the Topeka, Kansas, African-American community's problems with Superintendent Dr. Kenneth McFarland and, Director of Negro Schools, Harrison Caldwell.

Walter White to Lucinda Todd
Creator: White, Walter Francis, 1893-1955
Date: September 13, 1950
This Letter mentions the receipt of Todd's letter of August 29, 1950, about the situation in Topeka's elementary schools. White mentioned that he would immediately refer the letter to his legal department and said that Todd should expect to hear from him shortly.