Linda Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas advocated the need for change in America in the mid 20th century. America was a country in turmoil, after many futile efforts to make social change had failed but Linda Brown’s groundbreaking case pushed America in the right direction. At the heart of the problem was segregation. Segregation is the act of separating a certain person or faction from the main group. In America’s case segregation was practiced on minorities such as African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. The full force of segregation was brought down on African-Americans. Segregation was based on shear hatred of blacks by white Americans. The majority of them derived their hatred for African-Americans from their parents. This hatred was applied to all aspects of black people’s lives, they couldn’t do the most mundane activity without some sort of segregation. Everything from water fountains to public schools were under the influence of segregation. In Linda Brown’s case, the problem wasn’t a water fountain but a school. Linda was black third-grader living in Topeka, Kansas, caught right in the middle of racial discrimination. To get to her black elementary school each day, Linda had to trek a mile from her home through a railroad switch-yard, even though there was a white elementary school seven blocks away. Her father, Oliver Brown tried to enroll her in the white elementary but was rejected because of her race. After his daughters refusal into the school, Oliver reached out to McKinley Burnett, the head of Topeka’s branch of the NAACP. The NAACP jumped at the opportunity to help the Brown’s because they had long waited for a chance to challenge segregation in public schools.(Cozzens) The Bro... ... middle of paper ... ...ruled that they would monitor school boards until they showed plans towards full compliance and followed those plans. Works Cited Cozzens, Lisa. "Brown v. Board of Education." www.watson.org. N.p., 29 Jun 1998. Web. 24 Oct 2011. . (Cozzens) "Brown v. Board of Education." www.pbs.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct 2011. ("www.pbs.org") Kansas Historical Society , . "Brown v. Board of Education." www.kshs.org. N.p., Sep 2011. Web. 24 Oct 2011. . (Kansas Historical Society ) "U.S. Supreme Court." www.findlaw.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct 2011. . ("www.findlaw.com")
Board of Education was a United States Supreme Court case in 1954 that the court declared state laws to establish separate public schools for black segregated public schools to be unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education was filed against the Topeka, Kansas school board by plaintiff Oliver Brown, parent of one of the children that access was denied to Topeka’s none colored schools. Brown claimed that Topeka 's racial segregation violated the Constitution 's Equal Protection Clause because, the city 's black and white schools were not equal to each other. However, the court dismissed and claimed and clarified that segregated public schools were "substantially" equal enough to be constitutional under the Plessy doctrine. After hearing what the court had said to Brown he decided to appeal the Supreme Court. When Chief Justice Earl Warren stepped in the court spoke in an unanimous decision written by Warren himself stating that, racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that "no state shall make or enforce any law which shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Also congress noticed that the Amendment did not prohibit integration and that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal education to both black and white students. Since the supreme court noticed this issue they had to focus on racial equality and galvanized and developed civil
The famous Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka can be used to illustrate when judicial review should be implemented to aid one or a faction in actions that are unconstitutional. In the town of Topeka, Kansas a black third-grader was forced to walk one mile through a switchyard in order to get to her black elementary school, although a white elementary school was only a few blocks away. Her parents attempted to enroll her into the white school but were repeatedly denied. The Brown v. Board of Education case was tried on behalf of the black minority that was the target of racial segregation in public schools.
"Pickering v. Board of Education - 391 U.S. 563 (1968)." Justia US Supreme Court Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Even though slaves had been free for almost sixty years, it was still hard to find well paying jobs in other areas nationwide. The lives of African Americans were so well established, the area was coined the “Black Wall Street of America”. You’d think with such well-rounded men and women that something like this would not happen just based on their skin tone, but that is far from true. Whites of the time were still extremely prejudice towards African Americans, despite the reputation they had. It was only a matter of time before something ignited the flame that had been burning for years.
Back in the early 1800’s, America was having a hard time accepting others. The Americans did not like having immigrants living in the same area, and they really hated when immigrants took their jobs. Many Americans discriminated against African Americans even if they were only ⅛ African American. Americans were not ready to share their country and some would refuse to give people the rights they deserved. This can be seen in the Plessy vs Ferguson and Yick Wo vs Hopkins. In Plessy vs Ferguson, Plessy was asked to go to the back of the train because he was ⅛ African American.
Times were looking up for African Americans, their new freedom gave them the option to go down a road of either criminal actions or to make something out of themselves. But the presence of racism and hatred was still very much so alive, Klu Klux Klan, although not as strong as they were after the Civil War was still present. Laws like Jim Crow laws and “separate but equal” came into play and continued to show how racism was alive. Besides these actors of racism, blacks still started gaining a major roll in American society.
While raining, your child walks six blocks to the bus stop with no shelter. When the bus finally arrives, it is in need of thirty minutes to get to school. Eventhough, there is a school a couple blocks down from their house, it is not even a thought in the eyes of the law due to the mere color of their skin. This is not just the story of Oliver Brown and his family, but many other families experiencing discrimination throughout the world. Brown was ready for a change, so he and the NAACP gathered evidence to take on the courts. Through the process of many getting denied the acceptance of their children in school, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People gathered evidence for a lawsuit against the courts. Oliver Brown and many others were tired of the saying seperate but equal and the inferiority they were given through out their lives. Instead of just accepting the opinions of others and sitting around wanting a change, they stood for what they believed in, becoming the turning point in America. Judith Conaway was the author of the book Brown vs. Board of Education. In this book, Conaway describes in detail, the discrimination and experiences our ancestors had to go through. Through the triumphs they experienced, laws changed where segregation was abolished and everyone is equal. She says that the "supreme court had ruled that racial segregation in public schools denied African Americans equal protection under the law." She also said that the courts agreed that seperate schools harmed black children both academically and psychologically. For example, African American children would choose white dolls over black dolls because the black dolls were considered ugly with their heads down. This decision of the c...
... Brown v. Board of Education. n.d. 8 May 2014 http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/enlight/brown.htm>. History:
This obstacle caused Blacks to not have a voice in the USA’s political decisions. Furthermore, they were left with the worst jobs in town and had the poorest schools because of segregation (The Change in Attitudes.). In the southern states, compared to White schooling, the Blacks received one-third of school funding. The White people dominated the states and local government with their decisions and made sure that the Blacks were weak. They weren’t being treated in hospitals because the doctors refused to do treatment on them.
"Brown v. Board of Education, 349 U.S. 294 (1955)." Selected Historic Decisions of the US Supreme Court. Legal Information Institute, 1999. 12 Dec. 1999. href="http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/historic.htm">http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/historic.htm
Brown v. Board of Education. No. 347 U.S 483, 74 S. 686, 98. Ed. 873: 1954.
1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas: said that separate educational facilities are unequal and as a result it ruled in violation of equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; paved the way for integration (196)
Board of Education case. Three years later In 1957 after the Brown vs. Board of Education case, a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. This act caused an outburst of violence. Multiple mobs surrounded the school doors. The nine brave students weren’t treated equally by the teachers or students. They were often abused in the halls, and having mobs of people chase them home. There were riots by white students and families, protesting outside of the school. Parents pulled their kids out of school, because they didn’t want there kids to be around African Americans. The white children were taught at a young age to discriminate. The nine African American students were beaten up in the hallways and on there way home. It wasn’t a safe
The United States Supreme Court made one of the most critical decisions in history when it came to Brown V. Board of Education case. This landmark decision highlights the U.S Supreme Court’s role in affecting changes in national and social policy (nps.gov). When people read or hear about this story, they most likely hear how a little girl by the name of Linda Brown had to walk several blocks to school, when there was a all white school closer by than the all black school she attended. The Brown v. Board of Education was originally called Oliver Brown et al v. Board of Education of Topeka. This case challenged a Kansas statute permitting cities of over 15,000 population to maintain separate schools for whites and blacks for grades one through
Warren, Earl. "Supreme Court Decision- Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Et Al." Caselaw. Westlaw, 17 May 1954. Web. 7 Nov. 2010.