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BERGER Jewish Telegraphic Agency Washin on sther Swirk Brown wasn't the Brown for whom the land- mark U.S. Supreme Court case desegregating schools is named — but she is the Jewish woman who helped find Oliver Brown, of no relation, to be the lead plaintiff in the historic case. As a young woman in Kansas, Esther Brown was horrified by the conditions at the school that black children, including the children of her house- keeper, were forced to attend. The one- room schoolhouse in South Park had dilapidated walls and missing light bulbs. "She went to a school board meeting to press for equal education and was told to go home and mind her own business," said Miriam Katz, who impersonates Brown as part of a one- woman show honoring historic American women that is touring the Midwest. Instead, Esther Brown stopped black children from attending the school, choosing to home school them in her own house and getting friends to serve as other teachers. When she took her fight statewide to Topeka, she met Linda Brown, a young girl, and raised money so that Linda Brown's father, Oliver, could sue the city's board of education. "She just wanted rights for every- body," Katz said. "Maybe she felt like she had to make things right." The Jewish Slant OUR CARS MUST PASS 128 INSPECTION POINTS IS AN IDEA . THAT EVERYONE EXPECTS, HUT NO DEALER> ACHIEVES: CONSIDER IT A NONISSUE- Fifty years after integration case, Jews remember their crucial role. lexusoflansing.com As the nation marks the 50th anniver- sary of the Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education, which changed the face of the civil rights fight, Jews are noting the historic role their community played in pushing the movement forward. "It was disproportionately black and Jewish lawyers that were fighting the civil rights cases," said David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism and a board member of the National Association for the Advancement of Related commentary: page 73 SATURDAY 1 0-5 REASONABLE PRIG. Y NoTH (34 n50 Colored People. Charles Black, a member of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund team that argued Brown, used to joke that he was the only non-Jewish name on many of the briefs in that case. Several Jewish groups are marking the anniversary and the Jewish commu- nity's participation in the landmark case. The Anti-Defamation League has created a six-part educational program for schools on Brown's legacy, including a section on key alliances, which tells the story of Esther Brown. And at its annual Washington meet- ing the week before last, the American Jewish Committee showcased a video about the group's role in the civil rights movement. It featured several television advertisements AJCommittee funded to promote tolerance. A predominantly liberal community, Jews felt empathy for the plight of black Americans. "In the fight for the rights of African Americans, Jews were also in a fight for the rights of all minorities in America," Saperstein said. "There was implicit - recognition that Jews wouldn't be safe in America until they created a country with no room for discrimination." Jewish -organizations lent their name to the civil rights cause, filing amicus briefs for the plaintiffs and funding some of the legal efforts. In fact, the AJCommittee funded research by Kenneth Clark on the effects of preju- dice and discrimination on personality development that Chief Justice Earl Warren cited in his unanimous Supreme Court decision handed down on May 17, 1954. Liberal Leanings Many individual Jews, like Esther Brown, were part of the effort as well — perhaps none more than Jack Greenberg. As an associate counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Greenberg was one of several who argued Brown vs. Board of Education in front of the Supreme Court. He later succeeded Thurgood Marshall as the fund's director and counsel for more than 20 years. "Being Jewish can lead you in any direction," said Greenberg, now a pro-