Case Study Of Brown V. Board Of Education

Sixty-two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional. The decision from the Plessy v. Ferguson case was lawfully denounced by the Brown v. Board of Education. The Brown case, which was initiated by the members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), served as a stimulus for challenging segregation in all areas of society, especially in public educational institutions. Among the support for the desegregation in school systems, there was a young yet compelling voice who was heard by numerous ears in the rural city in Farmville, Alabama. The virtuous and determined Barbara Johns, who was only a high school student then led her tiny, hovel-like school’s student body and the Farmville community to file a lawsuit in the hope of terminating the inequality in regards to the educational system.

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.

Board of Education(1954) case were Linda Brown, Oliver Brown, Robert Carter, Harold Fatzer, Jack Greenberg, Thurgood Marshall, Frank D. Reeves, Charles Scott, and John Scott("Teaching with documents:," ). Linda lived not to far from a local African American school, but her father had other plans for her and wanted her to go to an all white school so that she could obtain a better education. She was denied the opportunity, so her father teamed up with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP). The 14th Amendment was violated when she was denied the right to go to the all white school(Collins). The 14th Amendment says that a states have to give citizen equal protection under all circumstances. Brown v. Board of Education was not immediately ruled. This case ruling was deliberately thought through and started the trend of desegregating schools years later. In the opinion they believed that segregating the white and black students was the right thing to do. Students would be “offended or intimidated” if they had peers of a different race. That was their way of saying that she should not be allowed to attend the all white school in her community. This case had no had no dissenting opinion. By the case beginning combined to other similar case it was brought to the Supreme Court. They overruled “separate but equal” because of the previous case Plessy v. Ferguson because it violate the 14th amendment("Brown v. Board," 2012).

Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark case that was decided by the Supreme Court of America in 1954. It is a case that is believed to have brought to an end decades of increasing racial segregation that was experienced in America’s public schools. The landmark decision of this case was resolved from six separate cases that originated from four states. The Supreme Court is believed to have preferred rearguments in the case because of its preference for presentation of briefs. The briefs were to be heard from both sides of the case, with the focus being on five fundamental questions. The questions focused on the attorneys’ opinions about whether Congress viewed segregation in public schools when it ratified the 14th amendment (Benoit, 2013). Changes were then made to the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

Martin Luther king Jr. once stated "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" indicating that if justice is not served injustice will continue. There are several cases that exude injustice such as Dred Scott vs. Sanford, Plessy vs. Ferguson, and Brown vs. Board of Education. These cases all deal with different topics including political, civil rights, and education. That being said many of these Supreme Court cases changed equality in their communities, thus impacting the nation.

I have long respected the law’s ability to shape everyday experiences. As part of my Gifted Support project in the fifth grade, I wrote a report about Brown v. Board of Education. At that young age, I had heard some of my parents’ accounts of what their educational experiences were but I had never read or heard the profound and perverse impact that segregation had on children who looked like me. The lesson I learned from the project was that the law was not just a set of statutes and cases but something that gave me the right and opportunity to have an equitable chance at success in life where I could be judged based on my abilities and not the amount of melanin in my skin. My goal is to combine the passion for the law that I’ve had ever since learning about the enormity of Brown v. Board of Ed as a fifth grader, with a law degree from the University of Michigan that will give me the skills needed to bring my desires to fruition .

The Supreme Court case Brown v. The Board of Education began in 1950 with an eight year old girl. Linda Brown, a black third grader in Topeka, Kansas grew up in a time where schools were segregated based on race. By 1950 Topeka, Kansas had 18 schools for white children and only four for black children. To get to her all-black school, Linda was forced to walk over a mile. Her trek was riddled with difficulties from the bitter cold of winter to the dangerous journey through a railroad switch-yard. Ironically, Linda only lived seven blocks away from an all-white school called Sumner, a ten minute walk for the third grader. Her father, Oliver Brown, did not want his daughter to endure hardships just to get to school. He brought the case to the

One of the biggest turning points for African Americans was the case of Brown vs the Board of Education. In the 1950’s, public places were segregated, including the local schools. There were all white-school and all-black schools. During this time, many African American children had to be bused out of their neighborhoods or had to walk several miles just to attend their specific school. Brown vs the Board of Education was not just about equality, this case was the starting point of many American realizing that separate but equal was not effective. This case was the catalyst to equality when using restrooms and water fountains, essentially making all men/women equal, regardless of race, creed, or color.

Even before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, lawmakers were attempting to right the wrongs of over two hundred and forty five years of slavery and oppression of minorities in the United States. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a directive forbidding defense contractors from using racially discriminatory hiring practices (Week) and on May 17, 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the provisions of Plessy v. Ferguson, which allowed for “separate but equal” public facilities, including public schools. The unanimous decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas declared that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” thus ending federal tolerance of racial segregation and igniting

In early black History Africans Americans were looked at as an asset or a slave for the benefit of the white folks. This sense of ownership was detrimental in the day to African Americans pride and also their identity. According to History.com “Though it is impossible to give accurate figures, some historians have estimated that 6 to 7 million slaves were imported to the New World during the 18th century alone, depriving the African continent of some of its healthiest and ablest men and women”. After slavery was abolished the sense of racial inferiority of the white folks was maintained and preserved by teaching this to everyone thereafter through the media we watch. This strategy of colonialism was sought after to control the thoughts of blacks and whites. Segregation enabled the African American’s to uphold oppositional standpoints and views to counter the effects of racism. In order to try and level out the superiority integrations was enacted. The Brown Vs. Board of education case decision in 1954 made integration possible.

In the United States, the Civil Rights movement caught the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1950s. The Supreme Court held several trials regarding the rights of African Americans, including the famous case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. This case was the name for 5 separate trials heard in the Supreme Court, however, the Brown family’s name was used as the title for the series of trials presented. Turgood Marshall, part of the legal defense and education team of the NAACP, helped fund the expenses of these trials. The issue Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka addressed, was the segregation present in the United States school system. More specifically, this case dealt with the separation of white and black schools and

realized “separate but equal” was fiction in fact and now law. More importantly, the Supreme Court was less conservative than the start of the century. The three liberal justices in the Warren Court, changing public sediment, and some long hard fought precedents made a world of deference.

schools outright banned African American from learning with white students by either segregation or outright banning from such institutions. Integration of black children with white children was made nearly impossible during these days due to fierce local opposition, such as Canaan, New Hampshire’s Noyes Academy, with a lack of support African Americans had been mostly illiterate until during the Reconstruction period in the South. With the conclusion of the Civil War, the newly established coalition of Freedman and Republicans in the Southern state legislatures passed laws establishing the right to public education regardless of race throughout the United States. With African Americans being granted the right to public education, their literacy rate climbed over 50% by 1900, a major achievement within less than one generation. From the notable segregation of African Americans from the white population with schools, colleges began arising throughout the country, both state schools such as Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, as private colleges established by Northern missionary societies. This overall segregation of schools would continue in the south, with the notable exception of New Orleans schools which were desegregated, until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 deemed it unconstitutional leading to fully integrated schools nation-wide by the 1970’s. After the decision, technically equality of education regardless of race had been achieved by 1970.

The national problem over the Brown v. Board of Education court case had come to an end as integration of public facilities was beginning. People were mostly being excepted, Many things were still separated out of national control like water fountains, bathrooms and much more, even though they were accepted they still were not ‘accepted’ into the white society’s eye. Not only did they have to work harder but these under privileged members had to earn what they did and now their “Progress is…[apart of the] largely suppressed story of race and race relations over the past half-century. And thus it’s news that more than 40 percent of African Americans now consider themselves members of the middle class. Forty-two percent own their own homes

According to the data in this chapter, what are the main difference between a school which overwhelmingly has black students versus a school which overwhelming has white students?