The world lost a civil rights icon with the death of Linda Brown, the woman who, as a seven year old, lent her name and face and safety to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the landmark civil rights case that ended legal racial segregation in American schools. The National Archives records her age as 75, though some outlets are reporting at as 76. Brown was the lead student plaintiff in the set of five cases that the NAACP argued in tandem before the Supreme Court in the 1950s.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Brown died on Sunday (March 25). Her family declined to provide details. Get to know the inside story of Brown’s legacy by watching as she delves into her experience with the case during a speech given at the Chautauqua Institution on April 29, 2004, just ahead of the 50th anniversary of the SCOTUS decision.