the case: Brown vs. the Board of education of topeka (1954)
The first day of desegregation, on Sept. 8, 1954, at Fort Myer Elementary School in Fort Myer, Va.
Step 1: Read the background of the case found at the right. After reading, Discuss the following:
|
Background of the Case:
Linda Brown, an African American teenager, applied for admission to an all-white public school in Topeka, Kansas. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas refused to admit her. In a 1950 case, Sweatt v. Painter, the Supreme Court had for the first time questioned the constitutionality of the Plessy decision. (a case that had previously decided that "separate but equal" schools were legal) The Court had held in Sweatt v. Painter that African Americans must be admitted to the previously segregated University of Texas Law School because "no separate but equal" facilities existed in Texas. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) now saw denying admission to Linda Brown and other young African Americans as an opportunity to challenge segregation in the public schools, even though the facilities in other segregated schools for African Americans were "equal" to those for white students. Brown represents a collection of four cases, all decided at one time. The cases had one common feature: African American children had been denied admission to segregated, all white public schools. The cases reached the United States Supreme Court by way of appeals through lower courts, all of which had ruled against them due to the 1896 Plessy decision. |
Step II: Discuss the following:
|
Step III:
Watch the video to the right, it offers a bit more information about the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education. After watching the video, discuss the following questions:
|
|
Step IV: Summary and Review
The Supreme Court's unanimous (9-0) decision in favor of Brown rejected and overturned/REVERSED the “separate but equal” doctrine the court had approved 58 years earlier in Plessy vs. Ferguson. Now, all white schools could no longer reject and segregate black students, as all state's laws around the country regarding segregated schools were deemed "unconstitutional." Calling education “the very foundation of good citizenship,” the Supreme Court acknowledged that public education was not only necessary to prepare children for their future professions and to enable them to actively participate in the democratic process, but that it was also “a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values” present in their communities. The justices found it very unlikely that a child would be able to succeed in life without a good education. Access to such an education was thus “a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.” The justices here agreed with the Plaintiff's argument that separating children solely on the basis of race created a feeling of inferiority in the “hearts and minds” of African American children. Segregating children in public education created and perpetuated the idea that African American children held a lower status in the community than white children, even if their separate educational facilities were substantially equal in “tangible” factors. This feeling of inferiority reduced the desire to learn and achieve in African American children. Please be sure to complete your G.O. on this case before moving on! |
Further Reading:
If you need to dive into the case a bit more, here is the iCivics breakdown of the case!
|