Brown vs Board of Ed

Brown vs. Board of Education

The government has many laws placed upon us and as citizens we are held responsible for them. We are told to obey these laws and are punished if we exercise harmfully against these regulations. We can all agree that rules and laws should be followed for the well being of us, our country as well as others, but when laws call for segregation or prejudice, one must speak out against it. For many years, segregation had existed in this country, while our government continued to claim itself “free and equal”. If this was the case, then why was a third grader by the name of Linda Brown declined admission from an all white elementary school just because of her skin color and race?
This case, of Linda Brown [Brown vs. Board of Education], was originally introduced in 1951, but took 2 years to finish and the decision was finally made in 1954. The case presented was that of a 3rd grader who was not being allowed into an all white school. Linda Brown was just another African American who wanted a proper education. But being that blacks were considered as an inferior race, they were denied the same education that whites received. One important fact to note here is that white schools were closer to browns and yet she was still denied acceptance. When this case was seen in court, the amendments that were also involved were the 13th, and 14th. The 13th amendment states that slavery shall no longer exist. Whites were determined to show the blacks their rightful position so they got around it by proposing separate but equal laws. So the 14th amendment was established and it stated that there will be separate but equal laws in effect.

Jim Crow laws were really the basis of this case because it enforced segregation. Jim Crow laws were mainly those that stated that whites and blacks could not do things together. In simpler terms, separate but equal laws. These laws definitely made things separate but they just never came to be equal. Whites were always treated with greater respect and provided nicer facilities then the blacks. Racial prejudice was still existent and separate but equal was another way to get the point across that blacks were, are and will always remain inferior.
One student, Linda Brown felt it was time to make a change. She wanted to receive a better education so she decided to apply for a white elementary school. When she was denied entrance because of her race, her father, Oliver Brown, decided it was time to take this issue to the Supreme Court. In the mean time, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was in affect trying to stop segregation and have blacks attain their equal rights. This organization was also battling against Jim Crow laws. In order to go against them, this organization brought several different cases to the Supreme Court in order to fight against these prejudice laws. A total of 6 cases were taken into the Supreme Court, including Brown vs. Board of Ed., and all of them dealt with some aspect of racial segregation.
One famous case that went alongside with Brown vs. Board of Education was Briggs vs. Elliot. This case was regarding the desegregation of transportation services for the children attending schools. White schools, which provided better education, had provided busing services for their students where as the black children had to walk their way there, sometimes covering up to 5 miles. Over sixty parents along with Harry Briggs Jr. “sued the Clarendon county schools to demand equal school facilities”. Supported by the NAACP and parents, this case was brought to the Supreme Court but eventually failed to change any laws. But all in all, we shouldn’t view this case as a failure because after this, many other cases started arising to help in the desegregation of schools. This case was just another “piece in the puzzle”
Another case which arose after Briggs vs. Elliot was Davis vs. County School Board of Prince Edward County, Virginia [in 1951]. This case was similar to Briggs in that it wanted to have better schooling facilities for blacks but this case involved better learning and working conditions for the children. This case along with many others was taken into the Supreme Court and was fought by a really famous lawyer by the name of Thugrood Marshall. After these cases started arising, many people were getting frustrated especially in the black communities because the Supreme Court was not ruling in favor of them.
Perhaps the most famous case of all was that entitled Plessy vs. Ferguson. This case was the basis for separate but equal laws. After reconstruction, several amendments were proposed which improved the status as well as rights for blacks. Blacks were now able to vote and obviously freed. The question here becomes “to what extent is this law protecting a colored person”. Finally in the June of 1892, a man by the name of homer Adolph Plessy decided to challenge the law. Being fairly colored, he sat down in the white section of the train. The railroad officials had been alerted that Plessy was coming and that one of his 8th great grandparents was colored, and asked him to move to a different section.
Plessy felt that this action was violating the 13th and 14th amendments. The thirteen amendments stated that slavery is to be abolished and that segregation is against this law. The court ruled that the thirteenth amendment states that slavery is to be abolished but never proclaims that separate facilities, as long as they are equal, should be regarded as unconstitutional. The fourteenth amendment was also argued here because Plessy claimed that it assured him the rights or privileges of citizenship and equal protection of laws. The court eventually ruled that asking one to move to another section of the train did not conflict with any of these rights and that this amendment was clearly made to assure the equality of races. Separation here was not based on racial prejudice and that there was no intention of proving on race as inferior, or so the court ruled. And so it was assumed that separate but equal laws were constitutional. The decision of the case Brown vs. the Board of Ed., proved otherwise.
Brown vs. the Board of Ed. was brought to the Supreme Court in 1951 but the ruling did not occur until 1954. In 1952, Marshall introduced this case to the Supreme Court and argued it for a period of three days in December. He quoted a psychologist Kenneth Clark who in 1940’s proposed a test for black children to test their self esteem. Two dolls were show to children , one black on white, and they were asked to choose the one that looked the “best to them” most of them chose the white doll as being the “best” which ultimately proved that there was little self esteem amongst the colored children because of the slavery that had once existed in the united states. He further went on to say that the segregation was basically “an inherent determination that the people who were formally in slavery shall be kept as near that stage as possible”.
This quote was basically showing the negative affect that the segregation of schools was having on children and furthermore, revealed the true purpose of segregation in general. The judge at that time felt that desegregation of schools would fully break down the public school systems. After this, quite a few months went by and Marshall was called in once more to reargue the case. This time the chief justice was Earl Warren rather then Vinson, who had recently died of a heart attack. Despite this change, Marshall went on to achieve his goal and in 1954 the final decision was made. With 9-0 and the opinion of Earl Warren for the court, the decision was finally made to desegregate the schools.
By far, this case was a very important one in the fight to end segregation and to achieve the true purpose of America-a free and equal country. The slaves had been freed in the South but there still was racial prejudice. The fight to end it was on and the decision of Brown. Vs. Board of education was only the first step in achieving equal rights for the blacks. The decision that was made here was as follows: “the Fourteenth amendment required public school authorities to stop assigning children to individual schools on the basis of race and to refrain from other racially motivated measures.” This was basically stating that segregation was unconstitutional. This decision was made based on the Fourteenth Amendment. It was found that separate but equal laws and the racial segregation of schools were violating the Fourteenth Amendment which clearly guarantees the equal protection of one’s rights.
In conclusion, this case, Brown vs. the Board of Ed, was brought to court in order to declare separate but equal laws unconstitutional and that there should be desegregation of schools. This case, fought by Thugrood Marshall, finally achieved its purposed helped in attaining the rights for blacks. Plessy vs. Ferguson was the case that started it all and Brown vs. the Board of Ed was just the first step in recovering from a mistake made over 60 years ago on the doctrine of separate but equal. The African communities were fairly satisfied where as the whites felt as if they were being challenged. Many of them protested and others just could not get the handle of seeing blacks work equally amongst them. These issues soon become great conflicts, and to resolve them, became a battle all in its own. Jim Crow laws had reached their final days and soon blacks started to become more alert and involved in the government. Many cases helped to make desegregation possible and Brown vs. the Board of Ed was just one of them.