Although this landmark case was a case dealing with racial discrimination in America’s public schools, Its decision had a ripple effect that caused major changes in race relations throughout America. Before Brown, there was a “separate but equal” doctrine in education. This doctrine was upheld by the Plessy decision rendered almost a century before. It was legal for states to have separate public schools for black and white children as long as the schools were equal. At the time of the Brown case, there were approximately 17 states that adhered to a system of separate but equal education. Most of these states were in the south and southwest. A young African-American lawyer named Thurgood Marshall, began a campaign against the separate, but equal doctrine. He lodged numerous lawsuits against local school districts because of their segregated schools. The courts always cited Plessy v. Ferguson as a legal precedent. Separate, said the courts, could be equal. Thurgood Marshall was not satisfied with the decisions of the local and state supreme courts, so he took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the courts received legal briefs describing all of the cases, the one that grabbed their attention was that of Linda Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas. In the Brown brief, Attorney Marshall wrote:
The evidence makes it clear that it was the intent of the proponents of the Fourteenth Amendment that it could of its own force, prohibit all state action based upon race or color and all segregation in public education. The “separate but equal” rule of Plessy v. Ferguson was conceived in error and should be reversed forthwith. Moreover, any delay in executing the judgement of the court would involve insurmountable difficulties, so that the plaintiff in question should be admitted at once without distinctions of race or color to the school of her choice. (5)
Along with his brief, Attorney Marshall submitted evidence compiled by his staff, aided by volunteers. These studies showed the detrimental effect the separate but equal rule had on black children. It showed how a system that demanded that one remain separate, caused deep feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. The sentiments of the justices in 1954, were in keeping with the sentiments of the justices in the Strauder case of 1880.This landmark case overturned Plessy!!! The decision was read by Justice Earl Warren.
School segregation by state law causes a feeling of inferiority in black children that inflicts damage to their hearts and minds that may never be undone. Public school segregation by state law, therefore, violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment... The old Plessy “separate but equal” rule is herewith formally overruled. (6)
As a direct result of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Jim Crow Laws were challenged all over the country. These challenges came in the form of sit-ins, freedom rides, bus boycotts, and other means of protest. Blacks and whites, as so often in the past, came together to fight against racial injustice. Many, both black and white, lost their lives in the struggle for civil rights in the sixties.
The most sweeping developments that grew out of the Brown case were the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Civil Rights Act made the U.S. Justice Department responsible for enforcing school desegregation programs, while the Voting Rights Act, secured the right of every African-American adult to vote in local and national elections.
The next case will allow students a further opportunity to peer into the minds of lawmakers and interpreters of the law. This case provides an opportunity to explore other forms of discrimination. Students will explore the challenge set before the Supreme Court to change an unfair practice of discrimination against children born to an unwed mother. Because it is very sensitive in nature, teachers should handle its presentation very carefully.
