Case Study On Brown Vs Board Of Education

Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education came to light in 1954 when a landmark ruling was made in Topeka, Kansas. The court made a remarkable decision when it ruled that the separate but equal system of education be abolished as it was provisioned in 1896 Plessy vs Ferguson. This is one of the defining moments in public education, African American and American history. Prior to this ruling, blacks were not allowed to attend the same schools as their white counterparts. Under this provision, the argument was that the form of education was fair and just, however, the schools in which the whites attended had better facilities.

The problem that the Supreme Court was facing was whether the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution mandates the states to desegregate in the public schools, which means the policy of “separate but equal” that those states followed is unconstitutional or not. Morally, segregation is unacceptable, but it was difficult to justify the idea legally under the 14th amendment because the defense lawyer claimed that the issue was about the control of public schools, it should be the “states” right issue that Congress was not intended to be covered by the 14th amendment. Until the second extensive discussion, the newly appointed Justice Warren noticed the policy, and Warren Court had agreed that segregation was inequitable and unconstitutional. However, he considered that in this case, it is very important to reach unanimous. So he wrote an opinion for dissenting justices to convince them to reach the significance unanimous, and finally, Warren court made a 9-0 unanimous decision that “separate educational facilities are fundamentally

Those of African American race were at a disadvantage because of their skin tone. During the time of the case Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, in many states it was the law to have schools segregated. According to the law those of color must be “separate but equal” in accordance with the Supreme Court’s 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. However, this was shown to be untrue in many circumstances. When the courts were presented with this case it started out as five separate cases.

In the 1950’s schools were segregated by race and Linda Brown thought it was violating the Fourteenth Amendment because they had to be segregated by schools. When both of the schools had similar buildings, transportations,

The 14th amendment played a key role in the final verdict of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case because it forbids states from restricting basic rights of certain people. Which in turn meant that Blacks should be offered the same educational opportunities as Whites. During the rationalization of the case the court quoted the most significant case in Topeka, Kansas, “A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental development of negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they would receive in a racial[ly] integrated school….”(Infoplease) This played a key part in why the vote was unanimous, because the segregation of children by race in schools shouldn’t be ratified by the “separate but equal” court decision in the Plessy v. Ferguson case.(Civil

Despite the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, the southern state legislatures passed their own laws to continuously oppressing the blacks because they believed in their white supremacy. For example, they passed the Jim Crow Laws in the late of 19th century, that was right after the Reconstruction time in which the laws separated and prohibited freed blacks from sharing public areas and transportation. Because of many disadvantages, black people started to fight back the unjust law system and demanded to be treated equally even though it was not an easy task because of the legality of racial discrimination. For example, the Supreme Court set its ruling in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1892 that protect state racial isolation and the policy of “separate but equal” with the vote 8-1. In the argument of the majority, Justice Henry Billings Brown affirmed the distinction of race cannot be eliminated, and therefore, they cannot stay at the same place as the Fourteenth Amendment’s suggestion.

The court had reviewed information on why schools were not “substantially” equal to one another. Showing multiple studies on how students in segregated schools had “dangerous inferiority complexes” (pbs.org, Brown v Board), and that they should not be limited to their learning experience. The Supreme Court heard and ruled that “separate was not equal” (history.com, Brown v Board), and therefore made it unconstitutional, violating the 14th amendment.

v. the Board of Education of Topeka.” The case demonstrates that although the listed cities are where the similar issue was brought to court, the issue most likely occurred in many other parts of America, but the problem was never brought to court because it was hard for African-Americans to go against authority. Brown v. Board of Education showed that segregation problems were occurring in other parts of America and something needed to be done. The issue increasingly became widespread, thus, America needed changes for the issue to resolve because it began

Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the court believed that segregation of public education based only on race is unconstitutional due to the fact that this practice of segregation violates the Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment. This groundbreaking decision overturned the “separate but equal” principle of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). The Court agreed with Brown that “separate but equal” facilities are naturally unequal. In addition, they verified Brown’s conclusion of the sense of inferiority segregation instilled in African American children and the terrible effect on the educational and personal growth of African American children.

In the 1950’s segregation was a major issue throughout all facets of society in the United States. One major part of society which was majorly affected by segregation was education. The only schools African Americans were allowed to go to were all black and the conditions were horrible. Some families tried enrolling their children in the public white schools and all were rejected. One brave family fought against the unfair segregation their child was facing and petitioned it to the court; this was known as the Brown vs Board of Education case.

“This amendment state that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law” (qtd. in David 45). The defendants, the ones that wanted everything to stay the same, said that the case of Plessy v. Ferguson already rules that separate but equal facilities were constitutionally legal (David 45). They also stated that forcing a state to desegregate was taking away states’ rights and education is a state issue, therefore, states have the right to set segregation rules (“Brown v. Board of

Board of Education was not the Supreme Court decision it has been painted as in the history books. The case made by the NAACP and hundreds of plaintiffs was based on principle. Some white schools were closer for African American families or the parents should simply have the choice of where their child goes to school. The Supreme Court had other thoughts, citing that segregated schools “retarded” the minds of the African American youth. While many put the burden of integration on the white students, teachers, and schools, it was just the opposite.

After the Brown vs. Board of Education case, this all changed. Once the Civil War and slavery ended, the question of African American 's freedom remained. African Americans were given their freedom from slavery but, at the same time, were not their freedom from segregation.

The segregation of schools based on a students skin color was in place until 1954. On May 17th of that year, during the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, it was declared that separate public schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. However, before this, the segregation of schools was a common practice throughout the country. In the 1950s there were many differences in the way that black public schools and white public schools were treated with very few similarities. The differences between the black and white schools encouraged racism which made the amount of discrimination against blacks even greater.

Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) declared that separate public schools for African American and White children is unconstitutional. This ruling paved the way for desegregation and was a major victory for the civil rights movement. In regards to providing an equal education I believe this ruling did help to level the playing field. All students would now be receiving equal education and facilities giving them equal opportunity. I do know that it didn 't exactly go down peacefully and many African Americans still did not receive fair treatment for many many years but it was a stepping stone to move education in the right direction.