BrownvBoard

//BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION- 5/7/09//
 * What would break the back of Jim Crow America? What role did education play in the movement to desgregate America?**


 * BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES (more than one) (check video, [|Link 1], [|Link 2], [|Link 3])

Parents and students from five cities across the US argued that segregated schools in the US were not equal and that the black schools were overcrowded, unfunded, and too far away from the homes of African Americans. The name of the case in the Supreme Court was named "Brown et al v. Topeka Board of Education" so the case would not be focused on the South. However, it is important to remember that there were five counties across the country that were involved in this case.**
 * MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF (for integration) (check [|Link 1])**
 * //Plessy v. Ferguson// misinterpreted the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which said that it did not allow for racial segregation
 * The Fourteenth Amendment allowed the government make segregation in states including school illegal.
 * The Fourteenth Amendment didn't specify if the states could have segregated education.
 * Testing showed school segregation had harmful effects of African American children.

**MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS (for segregation) (check [|Link 1])**
 * No law said whites and blacks had to got to the same schools.
 * Segregation was a regional custom that should be left for the states to decide.
 * Segregation didn't harm black people.
 * Whites were trying to make education equal, but slavery had its effects on blacks and it would take them a while to catch up to the white standard of schooling.


 * THE CHANGE IN THE COURT (leading to a decision) (check [|Link 1])

The case was heard in June of 1952 and was a tough one for the Supreme Court. The nine justices all had differing opinions on what should be done about the school system. There was much indecision about where the SC had the power to end school segregation and if they did would they be able to enforce it.

THE COURT DECISION (in your own words) (check [|Link 1] and Link 2)**

The court stated that they were unsure if the 14th Amendment applied to education, but they were sure that education was the most essential function of state and local governments. Therefore, the court decided that the segregation had a sentimental impact on African American children and affected their learning so the ruling was that "separate was not equal." The court also stated that the segregation deprived any African American their rights from the 14th and 15th Amendments.

**ENFORCING THE DECISION (discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check [|Link 1] ****)**

The court said they wanted the decision enforced "with all deliberate speed". This was a very vague statement and allowed many segregationists the time to organize protests and resistance. Many of these segregationists feared for their communities and children, because the blacks were now being integrated within the community.


 * THE IMPACT and LEGACY** **(Check** [|**Link 1**]**)

The decision brought much resistance from segregationists and the blacks continued to push for the enforcement of the decision. The case led to the struggle of African American freedom spreading across the country and throughout social justice and beyond education. Even fifty years later, the Brown case has led a movement involving people such as minorities, women, and people with disabilities.**