The Legal Journey: The Brown V. Virginia Case

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

In 1951 schools were separated by skin color, or segregated. The Brown v. Board of Education trial was brought to court because a third-grader, Linda Brown, was not allowed to attend the elementary school that was closest to her house. She wa required to take the bus to school across town instead. In the trial the point that “Education for Negroes is almost nonexistent(13).” This is an example of how there were old problems in the Fourteenth Amendment that needed to be changed. Another issue that was brought up in the trial was that, “Segregation… has a tendency to retard the educational and mental development of negro children…(19).” Without the proper education at segregated

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, an independent legal aid group, argues in court on behalf of the NAACP and other civil-rights groups. Along with the NAACP, it was instrumental in helping to bring about the Supreme Court's ruling (1954) against segregated public education in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans. Case (Spartacus 1).     The strategy shifted after Brown, however, to "direct action"--primarily bus boycotts, sit-ins, freedom rides, and similar movements-- from 1955 to 1965. In part this was the unintended result of the local authorities' attempt to outlaw and harass the mainstream civil rights organizations throughout the Deep South. The State of Alabama had effectively barred the NAACP from operating in Alabama by requiring it to give the state a list of its members. In the South of the 1950s, that would have exposed every member of the NAACP to retaliation, from being fired to being firebombed. While the United States Supreme Court ultimately reversed the order, for a few years in the mid 1950s

Morgan v. Virginia in 1946 challenged segregation on interstate bus services. The NAACP wanted african americans to be allowed to ride the bus with whites too. They were already allowed to ride

The U.S is known for its liberty and equality. However, the Supreme Court once had to decide on the rights for African Americans. Since the abolishment of slavery, one court case before the Supreme Court sided against the African American plaintiff fighting for equal rights. In this case the plaintiff, Homer Plessy was arguing his right to ride in a "white only" train car. Unfortunately, he lost his case in Plessy vs Ferguson. Decades later, another plaintiff, Oliver Brown, also took a case before the Supreme Court. Conversely, in this case, the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in Brown vs Board of Education. This decision began the integration of schools. Despite the fact that these two cases took place almost 60 years apart, they both dealt with a similar issue.

In 1909 blacks and whites, led by W. E. B. DuBois and Arthur and Joe Spingarn, formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an organization dedicated to fighting for racial equality and ending segregation. The NAACP challenged segregation through its Legal Defense and Education Fund. From 1936 to 1950 the organization won a number of cases leading to the desegregation of law schools and other professional schools at segregated universities in Mississippi, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Texas. The NAACP also had some success in forcing states to equalize public school funding and to pay teachers in black schools at the same rate as those in white schools. But throughout the South, public education for blacks remained terribly

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

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

After Thurgood Marshall’s Ground breaking win with the Supreme Court in the case of Brown v Board of Education it was still very difficult for minorities to be able to safely attend many of the of the southern with schools in the United States of America. For example the state of Virginia resisted conforming to the decision passed down from the Supreme Court bench in reference

Because of the many other school districts that were experiencing similar issues, the NAACP had begun to focus largely on the desegregation of society, starting at schools. The main strategy, was to push for the acceptance of black students into schools that would be difficult and expensive for the states to desegregate (National Archives 4). Each of the other schools involved showed parts of the struggle of being an African American in a white school district, but the NAACP chose to focus on the Brown case, because it was undoubtedly avoidable without segregation (History.com 3). This allowed the Brown case to soar through the courts and eventually make its way at the highest one, the Supreme Court. Lawyers for the plaintiff feared rejection from the Supreme Court because of the decisions of a previous case, Plessy V. Ferguson. The case of Plessy v. Ferguson was an earlier landmark case for the United States, because it stated that 'separate but equal ', in all public spaces, was in line with the fourteenth amendment; An amendment whose purpose

The NAACP made an impact in South Carolina by the mission of ensuring that everyone has political, educational, social, and economic equality. They wanted to challenge federal anti hanging laws and fair housing laws. Also, they supported the crucial Supreme Court case Brown vs The Board of Education which desegregated schools. The NAACP helped have a social equality by civil rights, freedom of speech, property rights, and equal access to social goods and services. They also helped with the anti lynching and fair housing rights by supporting the Supreme Court decision on stop hanging everywhere in the United States and fair housing rights for enforcing the new fair house laws. Also, the NAACP helped with educational equality by supporting the

Going to school is an essential part of anyone’s life not only for the education provided but the community around the school. African-Americans were tired of not having the same rights as white so they decided to take a case to the Supreme Court called Brown v Board of Education. The African-Americans decided to take this to court after the Plessy v Ferguson case. The African-Americans wanted intergraded

The civil rights was a blessing in disguise, to say the least, for the African-Americans’. For many centuries, the civil rights movements maneuvered the African Americans to fight for their God given rights and after the Civil War a new movement for civil rights began. Many Black Americans from 1896 to 1954 were fighting for their rights and thanks to Mahatma Gandhi theorem “Non-violent civil disobedience” the civil rights movement was a success. Although the Civil rights movement was a success, many cases went to the Supreme Court were denied. The Brown vs. Board of Education case was an example of a major success in their civil rights issues. This case led to the Court overturning Plessy v. Ferguson, and declared that racial segregation

This court case didn’t stop others from fighting for their equality. Approximately 64 years passed since this event and the south was still segregated separating African Americans to less accommodating facilities compared to white people, but in 1954 another court case would change this. The court case of Brown v Board of Ed was brought up after a girl named Linda Brown couldn’t go to the closest school to her just because she was black; outraged by the shear thought of this her parents took the school board to court. () Her NAACP and her parents argued that separate was not equal and after and fortunately the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiff. By using pervious court cases and the 13th, 14th, 15th amendments as support this court case was able to change the tides of the civil rights

A crowd came together in front of the jail and demanded that the men be handed over and when they were denied, chaos broke out. The mobs went and destroyed business, were lynching African Americans, and even destroyed a neighborhood. They were eventually stopped, but it was a horrifying experience and something had to be done. Eventually, in 1909, the NAACP was created to help ensure the educational, political, and social equality of minorities. The NAACP’s strategies were different from other civil rights groups that would eventually be created. They relied mainly on litigation, and they pushed their campaign through many court cases. Since education was an important part of the group, the court cases had a lot to do with education. Cases such as Brown v. the Board of Education, Sweatt v. Painter, and McLaurin v. the University of Oklahoma was fought. Another group that was created was the SCLC, which originated differently from the NAACP and used different strategies. The SCLC was created by