A critical analysis of a little-known chapter in African Americans’ collective efforts to obtain educational equality before Brown v. Board of Education.
Just published, April 2026

Professor Ansley Erickson will also join the conversation at RevBooks on May 8.

The landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, which barred racial segregation in American public schools, wasn’t the only path for Black parents, teachers, and activists who sought equality of educational opportunity. Some believed that the solution to inequality lay in pressing the federal government to live up to the Jim Crow doctrine of “separate but equal” by providing more resources to Black schools. And for a time, this seemed true in Washington, DC, where Black activists leveraged their status as residents of the nation’s capital to advocate on behalf of Black education. However, disappointments with the “separate but equal” strategy and a sea change in activism led to an embrace of integration.

In Nothing Less Than Equality, Professor Tikia K. Hamilton reveals the rich and complex history of educational activism in Washington prior to Brown v. Board of Education, illuminating complex dynamics that provide a counterpoint and backdrop to the landmark Supreme Court case. Hamilton thoroughly examines the multipronged strategies employed by parents, teachers, attorneys, and activists to democratize education. At a time when funding for public schools, affirmative action, Black studies, and broader civil rights are under savage attack, this conversation takes on heightened relevance.

Tikia K. Hamilton is an Assistant Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Hamilton holds a Ph.D. in History from Princeton University and a masters in African American Studies from Columbia University. She received the Spencer Fellowship from the National Academy of Education. In 2025, she was named as one of "Top 40 Women Making a Difference in Academe" by Diversity: Issues in Higher Education. 

Ansley Erickson is an Associate Professor of History and Education Policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the editor of Educating Harlem: A Century of Schooling and Resistance in a Black Community.

Co-sponsored by the Revolution Books Educational Fund, a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible entity.