Brown V. Board of Education

1. Brown V. Board of Education By: Jorey Scott, Abigail Carpenter

2. The Supreme Court • Brown V. Board of Education is one of the greatest unanimous supreme Court decisions • They concluded that segregation in public schools violated the 14th amendment

3. The Issue • Segregation in schools was an issue because it created an environment that let to the best schools being used by the ethnic majority leaving less successful schools for minorities • People that promoted the segregation of schools were attempting to continue the racial inequality within the United States. • Socializing children at young ages also helped desegregate other public facilities by altering attitudes

4. Plessy V. Ferguson (1896) • Plessey V. Ferguson was a supreme court decision that decided that black and white segregation was legal as long as the facilities were equal. • This led to the popular policy of the time “separate but equal”

5. Civil rights movement • In the early 1950’s the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). advocated for desegregation of public schools. • The NAACP had a total of 5 cases sent to the Supreme Court with the intentions of desegregation however they were all consolidated as Oliver Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka

6. The Decision • June 1953: Justices find themselves deeply divided on the issue. • Decide to rehear the case in December of 1953 • During the intervention, Chief Justice Fred Vinson died, in which he was replaced by Gov. Earl Warren of California. • Chief Warren was able to bring all the justices to agree to support a unanimous decision declaring segregation in public Schools unconstitutional.

7. Postliminary Actions • Expecting opposition from southern states, the court held back on enforcing the law immediately. • Instead, They asked the attorney generals of all the states with segregated public schools to submit plans on how to proceed with the desegregation of the schools. • May 31st 1955, the Justices Handed down a plan to proceed with desegregation with “all deliberate speed.”

8. Resistance to Change • The Ruling of Brown V. Education was met with much resistance. • Arkansas Gov. OrvalFaubus’ ordered his national guard unit to block the admission of nine African American students to Little Rock High School in 1957. This resulted with President Eisenhower sending U.S. troops to protect the students • Enforcing school segregation continued to be an issue through the late 70’s • Schools were even threatened with funding termination if they didn’t cooperate with integration

9. Video Review • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Q-zd8PgeA • Start at 1:15 end 3:08

10. Impact on Democracy • This court decision was intended to create a more equal playing field for minorities and decrease racism through integrating young people in a learning environment. • Having an educated diverse population is key to a successful democracy • Protecting the minorities basic rights is a staple of American Democracy

11. Movements Inspired by Brown V. Board • Catalyst for the civil rights as well as the women's movement • Led to the desegregation of the US military • Paved the way for the black middle class to develop entrepreneurially which were strictly restricted before the case • Was designed for schools but created openings to challenge racial barriers

12. Works Cited • Links Sourced • http://www.civilrights.org/education/brown/ • http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/desegregation.html • http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia enc_little_rock_school_desegregation_1957/ • http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html