Linda Brown, center of Brown v. Board case, dead at 76

Linda Brown, the woman who was at the center of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended school segregation, has died at age 76.

Brown's sister, Cheryl Brown Henderson, confirmed her death to The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Kansas. (AP Photo)

The Supreme Court in 1954 ruled segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The landmark ruling came after Brown's father tried to enroll her in the all-white Sumner Elementary School.

The Topeka Board of Education denied Brown admission, which led to her father, Oliver, challenging the decision in the nation's highest court.

The NAACP, which took up the case alongside former Associate SCOTUS Justice Thurgood Marshall, tweeted that Brown was a "hero for our nation!"

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer said that "Brown's life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world."

"As a young girl, her courage in the face of one of the darkest forces in American history fundamentally changed our nation," the Legal Defense Fund for the NAACP tweeted. "For that, we owe her our eternal gratitude."

Nicole Darrah covers breaking and trending news for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @nicoledarrah.