BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION What would break the back of Jim Crow America? What role did education play in the movement to desgregate America?
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Using the the links provided, analyze the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. Cut and paste the information below into a new entry on your Unit 8 Online Notebook.
BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES (more than one) (check video, Link 1, Link 2, Link 3) Segregation in Kansas was not as bad as it was in the deep South. Schools had the choice if they wanted to segregate their schools or not. The state capital, Topeka, had four schools segregated for black children. Activists challenged Topeka's policy of segregated schooling. In Brown v Board it was said that this act violated the 14th amendment which guarantees equal citizenship to every American. This case shaped the future national and international foundation regarding human rights. Segregated schools were now banned because they were said to be unconstitutional. MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF (for integration) (check Link 1)
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court had misinterpreted the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. With equal protection of the laws, segregation was not allowed.
The Fourteenth Amendment allowed the government to prohibit any discriminatory state action based on race, including segregation in public schools.
The Fourteenth Amendment did not say that the states would be allowed to establish segregated education.
Psychological testing demonstrated the harmful effects of segregation on the minds of African American children.
MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS (for segregation) (check Link 1)
The Constitution did not require white and African American children to attend the same schools.
Social separation of blacks and whites was a regional custom; the states should be left free to regulate their own social affairs.
Segregation was not harmful to black people.
Whites were making a good faith effort to equalize the two educational systems. But because black children were still living with the effects of slavery, it would take some time before they were able to compete with white children in the same classroom.
THE CHANGE IN THE COURT (leading to a decision) (check Link 1)
The nine judges were split with indecision. The justices worried that a decision to integrate schools might be unenforceable.
In September 1953 Vinson died, Earl Warren was appointed as chief justice. His leadership in producing a unanimous decision to overturn Plessy changed the course of American history.
THE COURT DECISION (in your own words) (check Link 1 and Link 2)
Earl Warren wrote the decision for the Court. He said that it was not clear whether the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment intended to allow segregated public education. The doctrine of separate but equal did not appear until 1896, he noted, and it included transportation, not education.
Racial segregation of any kind deprived African Americans of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and due process under the Fifth Amendment.
ENFORCING THE DECISION (discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check Link 1)
The Brown decision declared the system of legal segregation unconstitutional. But the Court ordered only that the states end segregation with “all deliberate speed.” This term was too vague and it gave segregationists the opportunity to organize resistance.
Although many whites welcomed the Brown decision, a large number considered it an assault on their way of life. Segregationists did not agree with the result and launched many resistances..
THE IMPACT and LEGACY(Check**Link 1**)
In the mid-1950s Americans remained deeply divided over the issue of racial equality. African Americans wanted to have the Brown decision enforced, and many people were unprepared for the intensity of resistance among white southerners. Southerners did not realize how badly African Americans wanted Brown decision to be enforced.
The African Americans struggle soon spread through the U.S. The original battle for school desegregation became part of broader campaigns for social justice. Fifty years after the Brown decision, the movement has come to include racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, and other groups, each demanding equal opportunity.
What would break the back of Jim Crow America? What role did education play in the movement to desgregate America?
Using the the links provided, analyze the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. Cut and paste the information below into a new entry on your Unit 8 Online Notebook.
Segregation in Kansas was not as bad as it was in the deep South. Schools had the choice if they wanted to segregate their schools or not. The state capital, Topeka, had four schools segregated for black children. Activists challenged Topeka's policy of segregated schooling. In Brown v Board it was said that this act violated the 14th amendment which guarantees equal citizenship to every American. This case shaped the future national and international foundation regarding human rights. Segregated schools were now banned because they were said to be unconstitutional.
MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF (for integration) (check Link 1)
MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS (for segregation) (check Link 1)
THE CHANGE IN THE COURT (leading to a decision) (check Link 1)
The nine judges were split with indecision. The justices worried that a decision to integrate schools might be unenforceable.
In September 1953 Vinson died, Earl Warren was appointed as chief justice. His leadership in producing a unanimous decision to overturn Plessy changed the course of American history.
THE COURT DECISION (in your own words) (check Link 1 and Link 2)
Earl Warren wrote the decision for the Court. He said that it was not clear whether the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment intended to allow segregated public education. The doctrine of separate but equal did not appear until 1896, he noted, and it included transportation, not education.
Racial segregation of any kind deprived African Americans of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and due process under the Fifth Amendment.
ENFORCING THE DECISION (discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check Link 1)
The Brown decision declared the system of legal segregation unconstitutional. But the Court ordered only that the states end segregation with “all deliberate speed.” This term was too vague and it gave segregationists the opportunity to organize resistance.
Although many whites welcomed the Brown decision, a large number considered it an assault on their way of life. Segregationists did not agree with the result and launched many resistances..
THE IMPACT and LEGACY (Check **Link 1**)
In the mid-1950s Americans remained deeply divided over the issue of racial equality. African Americans wanted to have the Brown decision enforced, and many people were unprepared for the intensity of resistance among white southerners. Southerners did not realize how badly African Americans wanted Brown decision to be enforced.
The African Americans struggle soon spread through the U.S. The original battle for school desegregation became part of broader campaigns for social justice. Fifty years after the Brown decision, the movement has come to include racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, and other groups, each demanding equal opportunity.