Brown Vs Board Of Education In The 1950's

On February 18, 1951 the case of Brown vs. Board of Education was filed causing a massive uproar across the nation. The hearing changed the way Americans viewed segregation and equality during the 1950’s. The Brown vs. Board of Education trial was important because it challenged American’s beliefs on segregation by testing American values such as racial discrimination, educational laws in America, and exposing that separation is not equal.
The Brown vs. Board of Education trial was a hearing that changed the views of African Americans across the nation. Esther Brown enrolled her daughter in summer school and was denied the schooling because of her race. The school required Brown to enroll her daughter in an all black school. The school

was far away and was extremely dangerous for a child her age to walk. Esther went to the NAACP and propelled a campaign to end segregation in Kansas schools. The Brown vs. Board of Education trial was composed of all five cases being presented to the court. The first case that was included in the major trial was the Plessy v. Ferguson. This case was filed because Plessy did not think requiring separate railways based on race was constitutional. The second case that was included in the trial was the Sweatt v. Painter. Sweatt was denied schooling at the University of Texas because of his race. The third case was the Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, Virgina. Davis was angered because of the poor facilities that the all black schools had. The fourth case was Gebhart v. Beltral. Parents in Delaware were angered because children had to walk downtown to an all black school when they could attend the school that is closer and more equip.
American values were challenged through the racial discrimination against the African Americans in the school systems. During the 1900’s schools across America started segregating schools based on one’s race. The African Americans had to attend schools that was dilapidated or unreasonably far away. The African American children were not allowed to attend the same school as the white people. During the trail Judge Huxman determined:
Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of law; for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a tendency to retard the educational and mental development of Negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they would receive in a racial integrated school system. (Linder)
The white parents and children believed that the African Americans were depriving them of their educational needs.

Since the white people believed this the African Americans had to attend all black schools.
America’s educational laws were redefined because of the Brown vs. Board of Education trial. The nation was divided between the decision of whether to segregate schools or start the desegregation process. During the span of the case many Americans started protesting for both sides. Newspapers, journals, and others were all in the middle of these disputes because they were giving out information to the public. People were trying to voice their opinion through these protests and gossip.
The Brown vs. Board of Education trial showed the American people that separation is not equal. The white people believed that since they are still providing the African Americans schooling, then they still have equal opportunities. There were many differences between the school systems that show that the African Americans did not have an equal opportunity. The African Americans were not supplied with teachers who had a good understanding of the subjects that needed to be taught. The African Americans were not provided transportation, so many of them had to walk miles to attend school. All of the African Americas were angered at the school board’s unwillingness to make simple repairs to a rundown school area for the African American students. However, the school boards were more than willing

to build the white Americans a new school to fit the white students needs.
The Brown vs.

Board of Education case challenged America’s beliefs on segregation through the trail. The white Americans believed that African Americans were different from the whites. The African Americans used the segregation in schooling to show that separation is not equal. The trial helped show this through educational segregation. They were trying to prove that students are being neglected on education because of their race.
The Brown vs. Board of Education also challenged the social norms during this time period. Races were segregated throughout all schools across the United States. The Brown vs. Board of Education trial contested this norm because they were requesting for desegregation. The Brown vs. Board of Education also challenged the constitution by showing that all people had to be equal.
The Brown vs. Board of Education trial was important because it changed America as we know it today. The Brown vs. Board of Education is said to be the beginning point for the civil rights movement.
There are now many things that go back to this trial today. Those things include Honor Classes in the middle school or high school or Gifted and talented kids in elementary school. Many are arguing that the students who do not make the gifted and talented or honors program are being deprived of their educational

potential.
On May 17, 1954 the court unanimously chose the segregation of schools to be unconstitutional. The court stated, “By declaring that the discriminatory nature of racial segregation ... "violates the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of the laws," Brown v. Board of Education laid the foundation for shaping future national and international policies regarding human rights” (Congress of Racial Equality). After the case was closed many of the southern states did not approve of the decision. The Southern Declaration on Integration stated, “The original Constitution does not mention education. Neither does the Fourteenth Amendment nor any other amendment. The debates preceding the submission of the Fourteenth Amendment clearly how that there was no intent that it should affect the systems of education maintained by the states” (Weber 26).
The Brown vs. Board of Education is considered the educational trial of the twentieth century because the opinions the white people had on African Americans were reformed. It changed not only educational segregation, but segregation as a whole. The trial started to define a new denotation of discrimination. The Brown vs. Board of Education trial was a significant trial because it contested Americans viewpoints on segregation by challenging American values such as racial discernment, educational laws in America, and exposing that separation is not equal.