seperateisnotequal-blog

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Linda Brown went on to be a Civil rights activist, and continued to speak out on segregation. She actually reopened the Topeka case with the American Civil Liberties Union in 1979.

She argued that the district's schools still were segregated, and It was eventually ruled by the Court of Appeals in 1993 that the school system was still racially divided. As part of integration efforts and to honor the decision, three new schools were built.

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Linda Brown, lower left

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plaintiff

a person who brings a case against another in a court of law, seeking legal remedy for an issue

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Oliver Brown, plaintiff in Brown v. Board

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The trial was possible because Brown filed a Writ of Certiorari for the court to hear their appeal.

The justices conference came together, and it was decided 9-0 in Browns favor.  

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Chief Justice Earl Warren.

He became Chief Justice of the very divided Supreme Court in 1953. He quickly proved skillful at “massing the court,” especially through the Brown v. Board case.

During his time as Chief Justice, he advocated for individual rights and a more active role of the Supreme Court. 

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A unanimous ruling.

There was no dissenting opinion or concurring opinion because the court concluded unanimously that, "To separate them [children in grade and high schools] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone."

The opinion of the court: segregation in public schools violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

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ORAL ARGUMENTS FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION 

The Board of Education argued that the 14th Amendment states that people should be treated equally; it does not state that people should be treated the same. They stated they are already providing an educational environment in which students are most comfortable learning.

They stated that white students are probably more comfortable learning with other white students; and black students are probably more comfortable learning with other black students, and students do not have to attend the same schools to be treated equally under the law.

This cause is unlike the Sweatt v. Painter case, because the schools for black and white students have similar, equal facilities, and the states should be the ones to make decisions about the best environments for their school-aged children. Students might also have to travel far distances from a local school in order to attend an integrated school, which places a heavy burden on local governments to manage the changes.

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ORAL ARGUMENTS FOR BROWN:

The 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause promises equal protection of the laws, meaning states cannot treat people differently due to their race. There is not a good reason to separate black and white children going to school.

Racial segregation in public schools reduces the benefits of education to black children,. Schools for black children were often inadequate and had less money and other resources than white schools.

Even if states were ordered by courts to “equalize” their segregated schools, the problems would still exist. State-sponsored segregation creates and reinforces feelings of superiority among whites and inferiority among blacks. This perpetuates a system of separation beyond school, and gives unequal benefits to white students as a result of their informal contacts with one another. It undermines black students’ motivation to seek educational opportunities and damages identity formation.

At least two of the high schools in Topeka, Kansas, had already been desegregated with no negative effects. The policy should be consistent in all of Topeka’s public primary and secondary schools.

Segregation is morally wrong.

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The Amicus Curiae Briefs of Brown v. Board: American Civil Liberties Union, American Ethical Union, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League of B’Nai B’Rith, Japanese American Citizens League, and Unitarian Fellowship for Social Justice 

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Sweatt v. Painter

In 1950, Herman Sweatt was rejected from the University of Texas Law School because he was black.

This was a violation of the equal protections clause of the 14th amendment, which states that all citizens of the United States have equal protection under the law.

The facilities, curricula, faculty, and other tangible factors were not equal at University of Texas Law School and Texas State University for Negroes.

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Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1896, there was a U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the idea of  “separate but equal”.

The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African-American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for blacks.

Brown v. Board overturned the legal policies of this case, and proved the outcome of this case to be unconstitutional. 

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the Brown family, c. 1954 

Due to her race, Linda Brown, age 9, was not admitted into Sumner Elementary, a white elementary school, in Topeka, Kansas. It was expected that she would be denied acceptance because the city was very clearly segregated, but Linda’s father, Oliver Brown, still challenged the Board of Education through the Supreme Court.