Benjamin F. Roberts

Benjamin Franklin Roberts (September 4, 1815 – September 6, 1881) was an African-American printer, writer, activist and abolitionist in Boston, Massachusetts, whose famous case on behalf of his daughter, Sarah Roberts v. Boston, resulted in a verdict that laid the foundation for "separate but equal", but was also cited in the landmark 1954 case Brown vs. Board of Education. Despite losing his case seeking access to schools near his home for his 5-year-old daughter at the Massachusetts Supreme Court, he was successful in 1855 bringing the issue to the state legislature.