Biden Marks Landmark Desegregation Anniversary as Black Support Slips

President Biden commemorated the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education on Thursday, meeting with plaintiffs and their families at the White House as he tries to shore up support among Black Americans, who helped deliver him the White House in 2020.

Mr. Biden thanked the litigants for their sacrifice in being part of what would become a major legal landmark — that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional.

“He recognized that back in the ’50s, in the ’40s, when Jim Crow was still running rampant, that the folks that you see here were taking a risk when they signed on to be part of this case,” Cheryl Brown Henderson, one of the daughters of Oliver L. Brown, a lead plaintiff, told reporters after the meeting.

The Oval Office meeting was one of a series of events planned over the next several days to highlight Mr. Biden’s commitment to the Black community. The outreach culminates on Sunday with a highly anticipated commencement address at the prestigious Morehouse College, one of the oldest of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities.

Mr. Biden plans to underscore past victories for Black Americans while also boosting the achievements that he has delivered, White House officials said, citing a 60 percent increase in Black household wealth and the lowest Black unemployment rate ever, last year.