Brown+v.+Board+of+Education

Civil Rights

**Brown v. Board of Education** In Brown v. Board of Education the United States Supreme Court asked the question “Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other 'tangible' factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunity? (Racial Discrimination and Equal Opportunity)" **Background** Oliver Brown was an African American man who lived in Topeka, Kansas and worked as a railroad welder. He had no history of being a racial activist. His family lived by a railroad switchyard, where many trains were stored and many railroads were. In order for Brown’s children to get to their segregated school, a mile away, they had to walk through the switchyard. This put his children in danger. The white school was only seven blocks away but the Brown children were not allowed there. (Great American Court Cases)

On September of 1950, Oliver Brown’s daughter Linda was going to enter the third grade. Her father took her to the school only seven bocks away, only meant for whites, and tried to enroll her. When his daughter was not allowed to go to the school, he decided to fight the system with help from McKinley Burnett. Burnett held the head position in the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). (Great American Court Cases)

The NAACP was managed by Thurgood Marshall. He, along with his colleges, had challenged many cases before that dealt with segregation. They dealt a case where they challenged African Americans being allowed into Southern universities. The NAACP and their lawyers challenged another case where Caucasian teachers got paid more than the African American teachers, which was a common practice in the south. These cases set the standard of separate cannot be equal, in which the //Brown v. Board of Education// case was fought. (Civil Rights in the United States) **The Court Case** Oliver Brown’s NAACP lawyers filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas on March 22, 1951. They requested an “injunction forbidding Topeka from continuing to segregate its public schools.” The case was tried on June 25-26, 1951 with many black parents testifying about their children being rejected admission into the white schools. Dr. Hugh W. Speer who was the chairman of the University of Kansas City’s department of elementary school education, testified as well. He made the point that the black children would never feel equal to the white children within a segregated school system. (Great American Court Cases)

The Board of Education and their lawyers pointed out that since many public places were segregated in Kansas, the schools were simply preparing the children for real life. They also made the point of saying that some great African American people such as, Frederick Douglass and George Washington Carver, achieved many things while they still had faced things worse then a segregated school. Dr. Horace B. English, a psychology professor at Ohio State University, testified saying that the segregation that took place depressed African American’s ability to learn. (Great American Court Cases)

The court gave its decision on August 3, 1951. They followed the Supreme Court ruling of //Plessy v. Ferguson// in 1896. In //Plessy v. Ferguson//, the standard of “separate but equal” was set, meaning that segregation was approved between blacks and whites, as long at it was equal between them. At the time of //Brown v. Board of Education//, the ruling on //Plessy v. Ferguson// had not been questioned or overturned. For that reason, even though Brown made the point that separate could not be equal, the court did not make any changes to the school system. However, the court made a point of saying that they did realize that the segregated schools had a negative effect on the black children. (Great American Court Cases) **The Supreme Court** An appeal was filed for Brown on October 1, 1951. This specific case fell under certain rules and went directly to the Supreme Court. //Brown v. Board of Education// was put on the list of Supreme Court cases on June 9, 1952. The Supreme Court researched the case by looking into other similar cases that challenged school segregation across the country. A hearing date was set for December 9, 1952 in Washington D.C., where both sides would present their argument. (Great American Court Cases) Neither side won on the December 9th hearing, it ended in a stalemate. The Supreme Court ordered another hearing, set for December 8, 1953. The Court wanted both sides to change their arguments to contain only specific issues, especially dealing with the Fourteenth Amendment of 1868. The court wanted to hear more about the amendment and how it played into this case, and the current practices of segregation (Great American Court Cases). The Fourteenth Amendment is as follows:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (U.S. Congress)." **The Decision** After the second hearing on December 8, 1953, the court gave its decision on May 17, 1954. The Court had looked into other court cases that did not follow the ruling from //Plessy v. Ferguson//. Some graduate schools did not follow the prior ruling because the better schools did not let African Americans in and later hurt their ability to get a job, therefore, separate was not equal. Since there was support from other cases, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in all public schools was unconstitutional. Their ruling is as follows: "We conclude that the field of public education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the [appellants] and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment." (Great American Court Cases)

The ruling on the case of //Plessy v. Ferguson// was thrown out after 60 years. The Court’s decision was not fully put into effect for another 20 years. In 1955, all American school systems had to get rid of segregation with “deliberate speed,” as ordered by the Supreme Court. Majority of the schools made no change until they were taken to court individually. The process was not fully finished until the early 1970s, even though all other forms of public segregation were outlawed on the 1960s. (Great American Court Cases) The case of //Brown v. Board of Education// made segregation from public school systems unlawful. Along with its standard to desegregate public schools, it set a standard for other forms of public segregation to be outlawed.

Works Cited "Brown v. Board of Education." //Civil Rights in the United States//. 2 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.

"//Brown v. Board of Education// ." //Great American Court Cases//. 4 vols. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. "Racial Discrimination and Equal Opportunity." //Encyclopedia of the American Judicial System//. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1987. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. U.S. Congress. "U.S. Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment." Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.