The Importance Of Desegregation In The Civil Rights Movement

Racial formation is a vast sum of signifying actions and social structures that clash in the creation of complex relationships and identities that is a labeled race. Throughout the history of the United States, a large array of strategies was engaged in regarding education that took advantage of nonwhites. Since policies by those who supposedly “protect our rights” attempted to eradicate social, economic and cultural aspirations, dominated groups were more often than not suspicious of the school 's interests. According to John Ogby, “children from dominated cultures often failed school because they considered the school to be representative of the dominant white culture” (Spring, 101). This portrays racial formation having an effect on equality. “Acting white” meant to attempt to do well in school because

The 1954 court case, Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka ruled that Linda Brown, a black student who was denied admission into her local elementary school on the basis of her race, was in fact a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. A unanimous court decision broke the long tradition of de jure segregation riding on the justification of “separate but equal” facilities. It was Chief Justice Earl Warren’s ruling that finally shed light on the fact that “Separate Educational facilities [were] inherently unequal” and that it resulted in the “deprived protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.”

The American Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and 1960s generated massive international following and controversy, which made the movement one of the most important in U.S. history. The movement’s legacy can still be felt today, with the positive aspects, such as voting rights to African Americans and wide spread desegregation of public facilities, still being felt in the United States, and in many similar models across the globe. Although there were many “battlegrounds” where civil issues were debated, many people who know of the movement today would argue that the movement’s heart was rooted in the Deep South, ironically where it could be argued that the mentality of people living in the area at the time were the most violently opposed to such civil rights. In contrast, those who championed the Civil Rights Movement chose the tactic of nonviolence, at least at first, as a tool to dismantle racial segregation, discrimination, and inequality. They followed models that Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists had commissioned, using principles of nonviolence and passive resistance. Civil rights leaders had understood that segregationists would do anything to maintain their power over blacks. So, in consequence, they believed some changes might be made if enough people outside the

The Supreme Court’s decision in the famous and landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 set a precedent for desegregation in schools. But even still, southern activists worked to defend the practice of segregation. Following the Brown decision, grassroots African American activists began challenging segregation through protests continuing into the 1960s (Aiken et al., 2013). During the Eisenhower administration, Congress passed two measures that proved to be ineffective: the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960. African Americans demonstrated their frustration with lack of progress on the issue through non-violent means and campaigns led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (Bourne,

These problems that were being seen at young ages were not likely to go away with time because their learning had already been delayed. Furthermore, the supreme court saw segregation at schools as unconstitutional, “Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, case in which on May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously (9–0) that racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the states from denying equal protection of the laws to any person within their jurisdictions,”(Duignan). The education of the student was not the only thing being denied but also the chance to have protection in their own home. The supreme court agreed it was unconstitutional because idea of “Separate but equal,” set up by the Plessy vs. Ferguson court case was not at all being

“In the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place” (Warren, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka). This famous saying in 1954 marked the new generation of equality for African Americans that suffered from all mob brutality, mass murders and segregation. Brown’s conclusion reached by the Board of Education of Topeka proved the solid dedication of NAACP that had fought for civil rights since 1909. As fifty years had gone by since the organization was formed, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had overpassed their goal and contributed greatly throughout America with sweat and tears.

The Warren Court described the practice of having separate schools for black and white children as inherently unequal in the revolutionary court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954) in the following ways. It allows for a significant difference to occur in educational and professional opportunities for black and white students, it leads minority children and teenagers to internalize the perception that they are inherently lesser than their Caucasian counterparts based on their race. Consequently, it also leads minority children and adolescents to have a lack of motivation in the school setting since they have internalized the thought pattern of inferiority so deeply that it affects how they think of themselves and their ability to learn.

I was raised by parents who grew-up in the south during segregation. My mother, in a small rural town South of Houston and my father in an urban, bustling city in Louisiana. They were both out of school before schools integrated and prior to individuals participating in civil right’s marches and sit-ins. My parents talked to my brother and me often about the times prior to integration, however never dis-heartedly. Unlike the history books, my parents spoke with a sense of pride about those times and discussed the sense of family and community that was shared on their street and neighborhood, the number of successful business that were black owned, the schools and how much each student was required to learn, and the feeling of pride and self-worth that they were made to feel.

“The irony of Brown is that over the course of half a century… the decision has fallen so far short of its objective”(regression on integration). Since the Brown v. Board of Education decision was made our nation’s schools are officially integrated. However, it is a know fact that in many of our public schools nation wide that segregation is still alive and well. There are many schools that are almost exclusively white or exclusively black. In fact, according to Cohen seventy percent of black students attend schools in which racial minorities are the majority. In addition, one-third of African American students attend schools that are comprised of between ninety to one hundred percent minority. This is why people like Gary Orfield, director the Harvard project on desegregation, says that now is not the time to celebrate the brown decision. Orfield says that the potential is there, but they have not achieved the goals that they set out to do.

Children segregated from other children because of their skin color not only causes them to be more insecure, but it also causes a large knowledge gap between the segregated parties. Children who are separated from others because of their skin color grow to develop their own insecurities and diffidence. “After reviewing psychological studies showing black girls in segregated schools had low racial self-esteem, the Court concluded that separating children on the basis of race creates dangerous inferiority complexes that may adversely affect black children 's ability to learn” (PBS). Races being divided by these social barriers create a disparity between them. It is unequal for children of different races to be separated. Equal education is required in order to give all children an equal chance at success and making differences. “ Public education in the 20th century, said the Court, had become an essential component of a citizen 's public life, forming the basis of democratic

Children segregated from other children because of their skin color not only causes them to be more insecure, but it also causes a large knowledge gap between the segregated parties. Children who are separated from others because of their skin color grow to develop their own insecurities and diffidence. “After reviewing psychological studies showing black girls in segregated schools had low racial self-esteem, the Court concluded that separating children on the basis of race creates dangerous inferiority complexes that may adversely affect black children 's ability to learn” (PBS). Races being divided by these social barriers create a disparity between them. It is unequal for children of different races to be separated. Equal education is required in order to give all children an equal chance at success and making differences. “ Public education in the 20th century, said the Court, had become an essential component of a citizen 's public life, forming the basis of democratic

Nixon himself came out adamantly against school busing as an infringement on the rights of people to live in their communities undisturbed.

During 1954-1968, there were many different points of view towards African Americans. Some were on their side, while others wanted to lynch them. Cases such as Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Education made sure that African Americans and whites were “separate but equal.” Many had obligations during the Civil Rights Movement, such as the NAACP, eager to integrate the grueling school of Central High or the SNCC making their moves to establish a non-violent protest throughout the South. Little Rock’s nine went to Central knowing what was going to go down, but what they also knew was that it was their obligation to make “separate

In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education Topeka changed history by banning segregated schools. Though schools themselves may not be segregated, inside the schools, segregation is still alive. This academic gap may start as young as the age of two. Leading there to be a possible link to a person’s race and the quality of an education.

The case Brown vs Board of education of 1954 saw the Supreme Court ruling that education is one of the core foundations of a civil society and therefore it should be offered without any form of discrimination based on race. However, many states and the great majority of schools did not start the process of school desegregation and the few black students admitted to all-white schools had to face discrimination and violence. The first major breakthrough for school integration after Brown vs Board happened in 1964 when The Civil Rights Act was passed by Lindon Johnson. In particular, Title IV of the Act authorizes the federal government to file school desegregation cases. After analyzing the historical context of school integration in America, I hypothesized that race could have been extremely influential on whether people supported or not school desegregation. I expected black people, who had been subjected to unequal education, to vastly agree with school integration while I expected the majority of white people to not have been in favor of desegregation of education. Furthermore, I expected that, over time, white people would have leaned towards school desegregation reflecting the gradual change of mentality in a country that was becoming less and less segregated. I also expected the rate of support for