Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education was a court case that stemmed out of the issues and debate surrounding segregation in public schools. Linda Brown and her sister had to walk through a dangerous area to get to their bus stop to ride to their all-black elementary school. They could’ve avoided this danger by attending the school much closer to their home; the only problem being that school was for white children only. They believed this was a direct violation of their fourteenth amendment rights, and fought their case all the way to the Supreme Court.

Brown had many arguments as to why these segregated schools were unconstitutional. The first argument goes back to the case which created this level of segregation in the first place, Plessy v. Ferguson. Justice Harlen, who held the dissenting opinion in the Plessy case, speaks on the fact that the fourteenth amendment establishes that white and African American citizens are equal in the eye of the law. “The constitution is blind to class and race.” The next argument was the fact that “separate but equal” is not equal at all. The African American students were not receiving the same education as the white students, nor was their school receiving the same number of funds from the government. How can they be getting an equal education if the whites are getting new textbooks each year and the African Americans are using textbooks which are ten years out of date? The separation of the children also leaves lasting impacts on their lives. Children’s beliefs and values were being effected by the segregation. It was even proven that students had lower performance under segregation they believe that they are inferior to the other children.

The Topeka Board of Education had an interesting response to Brown’s arguments as to why segregation in schools was beneficial. First, they spoke on how integration would cause emotional harm to the African Americans. They could face mass bullying or even have a racist teacher, this puts them at an obvious disadvantage. Secondly, the schools were “substantially” equal, which was all that Plessy v. Ferguson required. Also, even though their education was occurring in separate places, they were still both getting an education, therefore equal. They argued that integration would anger the whites and scare or threaten the African Americans. TO them, it makes more sense to be segregated, which has cause no harm, rather than integrating and taking the chance of violence.

Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of Brown, making segregation in public schools illegal and unconstitutional. This is the court case which overrules Plessy v. Ferguson and puts an end to the Jim Crow Era.