The Brown v. Board of Education Court Case Essay

FACTS: Linda Brown, an African American third grader applied for admission to an all-white public school, Sumner Elementary, in Topeka, Kansas and was refused by the board of education of Topeka. A class action lawsuit, represented by NAACP lawyers, was filed in 1951 in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. This case consolidated the four other cases filed in separate states, all having in common African American children denied admission to segregated, all-white public schools based on race.

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

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.

Ever since the founding of the United States of America, blacks have continuously been considered inferior to the white race. In the year of 1954, a substantial advancement in the fight for equality for blacks was prevalent. Countless prominent leaders of the United States realized the injustices that the blacks were forced to endure daily. Stated blatantly in the Declaration of Independence, it is said that all men are created equally. Disregarding the opinions of the men in the South, people began to realize that it was time to truly consider every man who is a citizen of the United States as equals. A life where segregation was not prevalent in schools, restaurants, theatres, parks, buses, and all public

The court case known as the Brown v. the Board of Education is notorious for the fight against educational segregation. The court case fought to show the people that “separate” cannot be “equal”. Things such as “The Doll Test and the Fourteenth Amendment” both reveal the truths about how exactly “seperate” cannot be “equal”.

One of the most historical cases in African American history is Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Basically this case is a consolidation of several different cases from Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. Several black children sought admission to public schools that required or permitted segregation based on race. The plaintiffs alleged that segregation was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. In all but one case, a three judge federal district court cited Plessy v. Ferguson (an earlier civil rights case that segregated races on trains) in denying relief under the “separate but equal doctrine.” On appeal to the Supreme Court, the plaintiffs contended that segregated schools were not and could not be made equal and that they were therefore deprived of equal protection of the laws. This case broke the first segregation barrier in African American history. The base issue of the case was that: is the race-based segregation of children into “separate but equal” public schools constitutional? The final ruling of this case was: No. The race-based segregation of children into “separate but equal” public schools violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment and is unconstitutional. This made lead way for the future black and civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa parks. Slavery

of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could

In 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States was confronted with the controversial Brown v. Board of Education case that challenged segregation in public education. Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark Supreme Court case because it called into question the morality and legality of racial segregation in public schools, a long-standing tradition in the Jim Crow South, and threatened to have monumental and everlasting implications for blacks and whites in America. The Brown v. Board of Education case is often noted for initiating racial integration and launching the civil rights movement. In 1951, Oliver L. Brown, his wife Darlene, and eleven other African American parents filed a class-action lawsuit against the Board of Education

When Warren began as Supreme Court Chief Justice,32 one of the early cases he faced was the very controversial Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case,33 which presented the issue of whether "separate but equal" facilities for different races violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, as previously allowed by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson.34 Before Warren's appointment, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Fred Vinson was very divided on whether to overrule Plessy.35 However, under Warren's leadership and persuasion, the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous decision in overruling Plessy and finding the belief of "separate but equal" unconstitutional.36 Warren faced public outrage, including impeachment efforts, particularly from the south, where such cases were most prevalent, due to the unpopular Brown decision.37

On May 17, 1954, in the landmark court case of Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously outlawed racial segregation in public schools. The court decision, in light of the continual endeavor of African Americans to ban racial segregation, came hardly surprising. Still, the prohibition of school segregation stirred up hot debates throughout the country and was met with strong opposition, violence, and inertia in the South, where the law mandated school segregation. James Baldwin, an African American writer noted for his ability of weaving narrative and argument and intermixing public and privates experiences, also joined the army of critics.

As Americans, we have failed in the effort to uphold the truth “...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” (The Declaration of Independence). For hundreds of years, we have failed to reach a state of true equality.Though through the years we have made significant strides, racial stereotypes and prejudice still haunt our society today. Hate and division have already left their ugly scars on United States history in the form of slavery, segregation, and inequality. Now we must look to the healing redemption of peace and love to bring us back together.

African-Americans had hard lives because of the racial separation in schools, it made it hard for them to get good education and have opportunities to get good jobs in the future and succeed later on. Most whites were harsh on African-Americans and they shouldn't have had to live like that especially because it was just on their appearance and not there actions. In America there was a huge divide from blacks and whites that went on for more than  two centuries (Gold, Susan Dudley 7-8). The law required students in seventeen states to attend separated schools and the District of Columbia and four other states allowed the local boards to separate the students by race. The doctrine "separate but equal" said that if blacks and whites were separated they were expected to have equal rights throughout the schools  (Gold, Susan Dudley 8). Even though segregation in public schools were unconstitutional no one seemed to follow that law and went off still being unfair because of race (Matthew, Andrew, and Lisa Fields). The purpose of Brown v. Board of education was to make traveling to school for

Brown V. Board of Education is commonly considered the most important case to date regarding education and civil rights. Education as we know it, would be completely different if The Supreme Court had not ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. I am confident that another case would have come along and changed it later had they not won this case. History would be completely different regarding the war on Civil Rights if things had gone differently. Until this case, many states implemented laws mandating separate schools for white and black students. This historical case made the previous laws established during the former Plessy V. Ferguson case unconstitutional.

During the 1950s, the United States was on the brink of eruption. Not literally, of course, but in a sense yes. Though it had been about a century after slavery was abolished, African Americans in the United States were still being treated as second-class citizens. Separate but equal, as outlined in the landmark case Plessy versus Ferguson of 1896, became a standard doctrine in the United States law. This was a defeat for many blacks because not only were the facilities were clearly unequal, but it restored white supremacy in the South. It would be years before any sense of hope would come from another prominent landmark case victory.