Argumentative Essay On Brown V. Board Of Education

Brown v. Board of Education, which was the 1954 Supreme Court decision ordering America’s public schools to be desegregated, has become one of the most time-honored decisions in American constitutional law, and in American history as a whole. Brown has redefined the meaning of equality of opportunity, it established a principle that all children have a constitutional right to attend school without discrimination. With time, the principles of equality that were established, because of the Brown trial, extended beyond desegregation to disability, sexuality, bilingual education, gender, the children of undocumented immigrants, and related issues of civil equality.
The Brown decision has generated numerous writings that are used to understand the meaning of the decision; Brown v. Board of Education,

written by James T. Patterson, examines the political, social, legal, and educational controversies that sparked in the 1940s from the Brown trial. Patterson looks at a range of questions, which included questions like, could the courts have done more to demand compliance with Brown, and did Brown deeply influence the Civil Rights movement? He also analyzes the origins and consequences, and examines the aftermath of Brown. The big question that is addressed throughout the book is whether Brown marked a step toward civil rights.
Patterson starts the book by telling the story of Chief Justice Earl Warren became outraged when he discovered that his black chauffeur could not find any lodging in the city of Richmond while Warren was visiting Civil War sites. In 1954, Earl Warren and the Supreme Court agreed on the decision to overturn Plessy vs. Ferguson. Later in the book, Patterson brings the narrative to the present, and asks questions about the usefulness of court-ordered busing for achieving school desegregation and to what extent courts can or should play a major role in social change in a democratic society. He ends by examining the relationship between the much-debated academic or “racial achievement gap” and school desegregation. Throughout the book, Patterson introduces a range of characters that help animate the story, like African Americans who dared to challenge Jim Crow with lawsuits; to Thurgood Marshall, who was the chief attorney for the black families that initiated the trial.
Patterson, in his introduction, looked at the limitations to Brown; particularly in the structure of racial inequality in the United States. He shows that, as much as Jim Crow angered people like Warren, it did not anger them enough to change their outlook on American society, they did not even free their black chauffeurs. He shows America’s stance, and the conflict with it, towards race. Patterson’s view points the way to more extensive understandings of Brown, and to new historical inquiries.
In his narrative, Patterson talks about the struggle African Americans go through in order to receive a decent education.

In 1896, the Supreme Court decided in the Plessy v. Ferguson trial, that “separate but equal” schools for blacks and whites did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment. Eventually, “separate but equal” became an aspect of American life. He also uses his view points to help describe the San Antonio v. Rodriguez case, which had the potential to revolutionize funding in public schools. The decision of San Antonio v. Rodriguez could have helped the United States take a step towards social and racial equality in America. Patterson shows that the upper middle class whites supported this racial equality, as long as it was cost free, and as long as it did not take away from their own kid’s education. However, the Supreme Court did not agree with Rodriguez and it was ruled 5-4, meaning that education will continue to be controlled locally. As Rodriguez’ trial decision was made clear, the topic of desegregation in schools became a more complex topic, especially once it moved out of the south; due to the fact that many northerners were opposed to

desegregation.
In Patterson’s conclusion, he refers to the Brown trial in 1954 as a watershed event, meaning that the country had basically separated into two sides on this topic in America. In the end, the Brown decision brought not as many ground-breaking changes in relations to race that some had hoped for. Patterson examined both sides of the decision and showed clarity and balance while doing so.