Anthony Napolitano

EDF 4550

Dr. Barker

November 14, 2016

Brown vs. Board of Education

In 1954, it seemed as if three things were absolute: death, taxes, and sadly, racism. All

throughout the United States, everything was segregated. Whites and Blacks had their own

separate drinking fountains. Blacks were obligated to sit at the back of public transportation.

Worst of all, Blacks and Whites had their own separate schools for their children to attend. The

problem with this segregation had nothing to do with what each school had to offer, they both

supplied each group with equal facilities. The problem that arose was the psychological issues of

inferiority that segregation played on the minds of black children. This is where the landmark

case known as Brown vs. Board of Education comes in.

Prior to the Brown vs. Board of Education court case, another famous court case that

affected this nation was Plessy vs. Ferguson. This happened way back in 1896. Homer Plessy

was a man that could be pass - passing is the ability for a person of color to pass as a white

person based on their natural skin tone. He purchased a train ticket and sat in a white-only car.

According to the Louisiana law at the time, it was required for separate railway carriages for the

white and colored races.1 Since Plessy was technically Black, he was arrested and imprisoned

1
McBride, Alex. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Educational Broadcasting Company. PBS.
Accessed October 1, 2016
for his crime. He was then brought to court and convicted of his crimes. Not agreeing with the

imprisonment and conviction, Plessy took this case to the Supreme Court. The court ruled in

favor of Hon. John H. Ferguson on the grounds that the object of the fourteenth amendment was

to create "absolute equality of the two races before the law," such equality extended only so far

as political and civil rights (e.g., voting and serving on juries), not "social rights" (e.g., sitting in

a railway car one chooses).2 Plessys argument was that the law promoted an inferiority

amongst the Black people. The court rejected Plessys claims stating "to consist in the

assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of

inferiority. If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the

colored race chooses to put that construction upon it."3 This court case allowed for the United

States to be racist constitutionally. This is the case where we get the famous line Separate but

equal.

With the Plessy vs. Ferguson case, it seemed as if true equality was something that may

never actually happen in the United States. It wasnt until tensions rose to point where several

class action lawsuits were filed in the 1950s. The most famous of these lawsuits was Brown vs

Board of Education. The claim of Brown was the city's black and white schools were not equal

to each other and never could be.4 The court dismissed his claim stating that the schools were

"substantially" equal enough to be constitutional under the Plessy doctrine.5 Brown brought his

case to the Supreme Court who ruled in favor or desegregating schools. The Court concluded

2
McBride, Alex.
3
McBride, Alex.
4
McBride, Alex. Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Educational Broadcasting Company.
PBS. Accessed October 1, 2016
5
McBride, Alex
that, even if the tangible facilities were equal between the black and white schools, racial

segregation in schools is "inherently unequal" and is thus always unconstitutional.6 With this

victory, desegregation began all throughout the country. However, it wasnt until the court case

of Cooper v. Aaron (1958) that the Supreme Court ruled that all states were required

constitutionally to implement the Courts integration orders.7

The success of this taxing trial was seen throughout the country. Many schools started to

become segregated and Blacks were permitted to attend white schools. The success of this case

was a major stepping stone for the Civil Rights Movement. This case shun a light on the real

reason why Blacks wanted desegregation so much. It did not arise because anyone believed that

there was something magical about sitting next to whites in a classroom. It was, however, based

on a belief that the dominant group would keep control of the most successful schools and that

the only way to get full range of opportunities for a minority child was to get access to those

schools."8 This case showed the people of the United States that a change could happen and a

change was going to come. However, it showed a different member of the United States

something as well. It showed that America was changing and they didnt like it. Though the

Supreme Court ruled in favor of desegregation, many schools did not follow this new doctrine.

The biggest form of resistance of this new doctrine was from the Governor of Arkansas.

Governor Orval Faubus' order that his state's national guard unit block the admission of nine

African American students to Little Rock's Central High School in 1957. The nearly month-long

6
McBride, Alex
7
Donald, Judge Bernice B. Timeline of Supreme Court School-Desegregation Cases from
Brown to Fisher. Lessons in Leadership from the Civil Rights Movement. American Bar
Association. Accessed October 2, 2016
8
Henderson, Wade. School Desegregation and Equal Educational Opportunity The Leadership
Conference. The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Accessed October 3, 2016.
confrontation ended when President Eisenhower sent in U.S. troops to protect the students.9

Even after 10 years of the famous Brown v. Board of Education, many schools that claimed to

follow the new Brown v. Board Doctrine had not been. In many states, a school boycott would

take place. Even though New York City had been praised for its strenuous efforts to limit

segregation in its schools, the city has been subjected to two school boycotts this year.10 Fast

forward, thirty or so years and this is still a problem within the United States. On the educational

side of this new act of desegregation, Blacks were still in need of better education. This came to

a head when the Court ordered the state of Michigan, along with the Detroit school system, to

finance a plan to address the educational deficits faced by African American children. These

deficits, the Court suggested, arose out of enforced segregation and could not be cured by

physical desegregation alone.11 The effects of segregation and Americas blatant racism has

severely hindered the progress of Black people and education.

One of the five most important things to take away from this topic is that racism, as nasty

as it is, will sadly never leave this so called great nation. Racism will continue to be a blight on

all of us. The second important thing to take away from this topic is to never stop fighting for

what you believe in. Most of these court cases where the plaintiff won, was the second suit filed.

The third most important thing to take away from this topic is that education is important to

everyone. There is nothing more important than ones education and their right to it. The fourth

most important thing to take from this topic is that something as small as a court case in Topeka

9
Henderson, Wade.
10
Henderson, Wade.
11
Hartung, Uwe. Research into the Effects of Segregation and its Role in Brown vs. Board of
Education. International Journal Of Public Opinion Research 16, no. 1: 88-90. Academic
Search Complete, EBSCOhost. Accessed September 29, 2016
Arkansas can lead to something as big as desegregating the whole United States. Everything

means something if you believe in it. The fifth and final most important thing to take away from

this topic is to never let anyone make you feel inferior to them. Everyone is worth something,

and you cant let someone crush that belief.

 Bibliography

Donald, Judge Bernice B. Timeline of Supreme Court School-Desegregation Cases from Brown
to Fisher. Lessons in Leadership from the Civil Rights Movement. American Bar Association.
Accessed October 2, 2016

Ford, Donna Y., and King Jr., Robert A. Blacked out: Racial and Gender Segregation in Gifted
Education 60 Years After Brown vs. Board of Education. Multiple Voices For Ethnically
Diverse Exceptional Learners 14, no. 2:3-11. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.
Accessed October 2, 2016.

Hartung, Uwe. Research into the Effects of Segregation and its Role in Brown vs. Board of
Education. International Journal Of Public Opinion Research 16, no. 1: 88-90. Academic
Search Complete, EBSCOhost. Accessed September 29, 2016

Henderson, Wade. School Desegregation and Equal Educational Opportunity The Leadership
Conference. The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Accessed October 3, 2016.

McBride, Alex. Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Educational Broadcasting Company.

PBS. Accessed October 1, 2016

McBride, Alex. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Educational Broadcasting Company. PBS.

Accessed October 1, 2016