January 14, 2009

In 1966, Little Rock Central High School biology teacher Susan Epperson became the center of controversy as the plaintiff in the case Epperson v. Arkansas. Epperson contended that the Arkansas 1928 anti-evolution law, which outlawed the teaching of evolution in the public schools, violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Though it was upheld by the Arkansas Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the law in 1967, thus settling the issue. Epperson is shown here in 2006.