Brown V Board Of Education Essay

On May 17, 1954, in the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, the High Court, for the first time in American legal history, challenged the “separate but equal” doctrine previously established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and outlawed racial segregation in public schools. The decision, igniting fierce debates throughout the country, was met with violence and strong defiance in the South. The years after Brown, however, saw the passing of several important Acts: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Today, Americans remember Brown v. Board of Education as a success in African Americans’ struggle for equal rights, a change of sea tide for the civil rights movement. While

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was a milestone in American history, as it began the long process of racial integration, starting with schools. Segregated schools were not equal in quality, so African-American families spearheaded the fight for equality. Brown v. Board stated that public schools must integrate. This court decision created enormous controversy throughout the United States. Without this case, the United States may still be segregated today.

The case of brown v. board of education was one of the biggest turning points for African Americans to becoming accepted into white society at the time. Brown vs. Board of education to this day remains one of, if not the most important cases that African Americans have brought to the surface for the better of the United States. Brown v. Board of Education was not simply about children and education (Silent Covenants pg 11); it was about being equal in a society that claims African Americans were treated equal, when in fact they were definitely not. This case was the starting point for many Americans to realize that separate but equal did not work. The separate but equal label did not make sense either, the

The book “Brown v. Board of Education: A Brief History with Documents” is Waldo E. Martin’s observation on not just the landmark case of Brown v. Board but also the institutionalized racism that was overcome to get there. It also documents other cases that Brown v. Board built upon to get the decision that challenged “separate but equal”. In this text Martin gives a glimpse into not just what the court order did from a legislative standpoint, but from a human standpoint, what happened to the people, community, and society in general both prior and in the wake of the of this monumental decision.

The Brown v. Board of Education of 1954 is known for desegregating public schools in the U.S. In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled “in the field of public education the doctrine of separate but equal had no place” (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954). It was the 1st major educational policy. The Court’s decision in Brown created not just desegregation strategies, but also instructional approaches such as Title I programs, magnet schools, and bilingual and multicultural education (Contreras & Valverde, 1994).

On February 18, 1951 the case of Brown vs. Board of Education was filed causing a massive uproar across the nation. The hearing changed the way Americans viewed segregation and equality during the 1950’s. The Brown vs. Board of Education trial was important because it challenged American’s beliefs on segregation by testing American values such as racial discrimination, educational laws in America, and exposing that separation is not equal.

Brown v. Board of Education (Brown I) was an important Supreme Court ruling during the Civil Rights Era that ruled that laws of segregation in schools to be unconstitutional; a second Brown v. Board of Education (Brown II) ruled that public schools, and by extension colleges, must be integrated. These two cases are most often grouped together as a conglomerate case. Brown v. Board was actually made up of four other rulings which spurred it to go on to the Supreme Court. Prior to this case, black and white students were separated, and they attended ‘separate, but equal facilities’ in the Jim Crow South and throughout the United States. These facilities were not only inferior to those that white Americans were privy to, but these places - ranging from schools to public restrooms - were often inconvenient and outdated. After Brown v. Board was passed, it still took many years for desegregation to occur, but because of the efforts of civil rights activists at that time, public schools became

Most African Americans have faced many injustices, but one court case that can be considered as a major win is Brown versus Board of Education (1965). The case was about how a girl named Linda Brown not being allowed to attend an all-white elementary school. The jurors debated on the fourteen amendment and on the term “separate but equal” (“Brown v. Board of Education”). After many discussions and debate later, court case decision not only gave justice to the little girl, but also to the case regarding Jim Crow like Plessy versus Ferguson that faced injustice of the “separate but equal” which in 1965, “the Supreme Court produced a unanimous decision to overturn Plessy vs. Ferguson” (“Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education”). The case of Brown versus the Board of education was one of the most significant cases because this case was the stepping stone to the justices of previous cases that were ruled against for the fourteen amendment for many minorities. This case shows that peoples’ view point are slowly changing even when discrimination is prevalent; this was not the first time minorities wanted justice for their kids to attend diverse

Topeka, Kansas, 1950, a young African-American girl named Linda Brown had to walk a mile to get to her school, crossing a railroad switchyard. She lived seven blocks from an all white school. Linda’s father, Oliver, tried to enroll her into the all white school. The school denied her because of the color of her skin. Segregation was widespread throughout our nation. Blacks believed that the “separate but equal” saying was false. They felt that whites had more educational opportunities. Mr. Brown, along with the NAACP and many civic leaders, fought for equal educational rights for all races. Brown v. The Board of Education case and the events leading up to it had a positive effect on education and society.

For much of the ninety years preceding the Brown case, race relations in the U.S. had been dominated by racial segregation. This policy had been endorsed in 1896 by the United States Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson, which held that as long as the separate facilities for the separate races were "equal," segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment ("no State shall... deny to any person... the equal protection of the laws.")

“Separate but not equal”! Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This case violated the 14th Amendment and was unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education was one of the foundations of the civil rights movement. This movement helped establish the precedent that “separate-but-equal” education and other services were not equal at all. The argument was allowing black students to attend all-white schools. Many African American children had to walk very far to get to school. Some children even had to walk miles. Parents like Linda Brown knew that this was not right. In Topeka, Kansas, a little African American girl had to walk miles to get to school. Her father knew this was not right, and decided to go to court with many other black parents, that issued the same problem. This is when the fought for equal education began.

Through out history there have been many pivotal court cases that have forever altered towns , states , and even some that have altered the history of countries. Amongst these cases which have altered the history of countries Brown vs. Board of Education stands. Like anything pivotal there are many elements involved within the issue, background, and the impact of the decision. In Brown Vs. Board of Education there are three main points involved which made it so pivotal, the issue with which it was based, the historical background, and the after affect it had on the south .

The Brown vs Board of Education was a remarkable set of five cases that paved the way for desegregation in schools and eventually resulting in the Civil Rights Act being passed. These cases however weren’t the only catalysts that forced the Supreme Court to question the wording of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and neither were they the only pivotal cases that changed the way America as a whole looked at the black community and how to interact with them.

Finally, on May 17, 1954, Warren Court made a unanimous decision in the Brown vs. Board of Education case that said,”separate educational facilities are inherently unequal,” declaring segregation in public schools

With the social equality pressures and political turmoil that was rattling the South, the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Brown vs Board of Education, which ended legal segregation in schools, came as a wakeup call to everyone. The conservatives realized that times were changing and they were slowly losing control of the society that they tried so hard to mold into the way they wanted. Blacks were slowly gaining more and more basic rights and were finally being heard. “She knew about them, all right. New York papers full of it.