...Jewaun Rudolph PS1350 Writing A2 Brown v. Board of Education The case started with a third-grader named Linda Brown. She was a black girl who lived just seen blocks away from an elementary school for white children. Despite living so close to that particular school, Linda had to walk more than a mile, and through a dangerous railroad switchyard, to get to the black elementary school in which she was enrolled. Oliver Brown, Linda's father tried to get Linda switched to the white school, but the principal of that school refuse to enroll her. He went to the board of education first and they pretty much laughed in his face. Oliver to this case to court in Kansas but ended up losing the case. He appealed the case and the Supreme Court to on the case. Remember that way back in 1892 in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that separate facilities for black people and white people were constitutional as long as they were equal. That ruling had never been challenged, so it played an important part of the Brown v. The Board of Education. The NAACP knew that the Plessy v. Ferguson case would be the backbone of Brown's case, so they argued with that in mind. It was their argument that the white and black schools were not equal because the very idea that they were segregated sent a message to black children that they were inferior. The equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment was another key to the victory of the plaintiff. Chief Earl Warren stated himself after...
Words: 512 - Pages: 3
...The rules and laws of racial segregation governed almost every aspect of social life in the United States during the 1950s, and the rules of segregation disobeyed all logic. Young African Americans attending local schools were forced to go to segregated schools, despite the how far away it was from their homes. The inhabitants the United the States are guaranteed liberty and equal opportunity under the Constitution, however, it is historically proven that these fundamental rights have not always been promised as pledged. The American education system is an exemplary example. A seven-year-old third grader, Linda Brown, was forced to walk six blocks to catch the black bus in Topeka, Kansas, meanwhile, there was a school only seven blocks away...
Words: 288 - Pages: 2
...Professor Course Date Brown vs. Board of Education The Brown vs. Board of Education case was a colossal influence on desegregation of schools in the United States of America. It created a milestone of equal opportunities in schools among the blacks and whites. The ruling of this case took place in 1954 and it ruled in favor of Mr. Brown. It is among one of the important cases ever heard on racial prejudice in the American history. The Brown vs. Board of Education case is about a young third grader girl in Kansas, Topeka city named Linda Brown (Dudley 48). Linda was subjected to trekking one mile through a railway switchyard daily in order to reach her black elementary school despite there being a white school seven blocks away from her home. Browns father attempted to find a chance in the white school to get her enrolled there since the black elementary school was far from home but the principal of the white school rejected Linda’s enrollment because she was black and the school was a white school. Mr. Brown and other parents reported the incident to the head of Topeka’s National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The head of NAACP Mr. McKinley Burnett had really waited for such an opportunity so as to challenge racial segregation problem in court as segregation cases were very rampant in the United States schools. This was the right opportunity as Mr. Burnett and NAACP took legal action by taking the case to the District court. Brown lost the case to the state but...
Words: 1494 - Pages: 6
...There are many influential supreme court cases like Miranda v. Arizona. The most influential one are ones that put a shift into history. One of the most influential supreme court case are Brown V. Board. In this case segregation was ended. Another Court case is Gideon V. Wainwright. This allows a person how can not afford an attorney or lawyer to be given a lawyer or attorney. The next case TLO V. New Jersey. This allows a student to be searched on school grounds. Although there are many influential court cases there are only a few that stand out the most, Brown V. Board, Gideon V. Wainwright, and TLO V. NEW Jersey. One of the most influential court cases is Brown v. Board. In this case Linda Brown wanted to go to the white school that was...
Words: 1713 - Pages: 7
...Brown V Board Of Education May 17, 1954 was a date that had an impact on the board of education and our lives. There was an African American girl named Linda Brown, she was a normal girl in the third grade. Linda went to a school that was a mile away even though there was an all white elementary school, seven blocks away. Her father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in the white elementary school, but the principal of the school refused to let her in due to her race. Mr. Brown then took this problem to the NAACP ( National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), they agreed to help him. As this case became more known it was then later brought up to supreme court. Other cases have led up to this case, these cases included, Sweat v. Painter (1950) and McLaurin v. Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education (1950). The cases leading up to Brown Vs Board of Education featured African American people dealing with segregation problems. Brown argued segregation is seen as antithetical to our whole culture. If a particular class of people are forced to stay in their own neighborhoods, have their own schools, parks, stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and not welcome in 'mainstream' places, they are not equal as citizens. This is a violation of the 'equality' provisions of the 14th amendment. One of the most basic founding principles of the US is that we have only one class of citizenship, every citizen is entitled to exactly the same rights and privileges of citizenship...
Words: 494 - Pages: 2
...table I heard, “Niggers don’t belong in this school”. Right then, Linda’s eyes caught mine. I suddenly felt sick. I wanted to say something but the only thing that was coming to the surface was not words. Linda was my friend and I couldn’t say anything. The kids at school would tease me and make a commotion. My parents would find out that their little girl’s best friend was one of them. As Linda looked to me for comfort, I walked away. I didn’t even bother turning around to help her. I couldn’t. As I started to walk home later that day, I heard little footsteps running in my direction. It was Linda trying to catch up with me. I looked down the entire time as she tried to talk to me. I told her that it would be best if our friendship came to an end. I think she had the same idea in mind because her facial expressions didn’t change. I felt something inside of me tear apart. I evolved to act just like my parents. I now looked down upon Linda, like I was better than she was and I will always be better. As I turned to apologize to her, she had already sprinted halfway down the street. That was the last day I saw Linda. Her and her family moved away because protestors would harass them and stand outside their house. It was not safe for the Browns to stay in this neighborhood. I miss Linda dearly. She was a good friend to me and I just let her walk away with a broken heart. I do hope one day that segregation will come to an end,...
Words: 936 - Pages: 4
...Plessy v. Ferguson In 1896 the United States Supreme Court upheld a case that changed segregation. The Plessy v. Ferguson case declared that separate facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were equal. This court case set the “Separate but Equal” laws. After this court case was unjustified the black communities became outraged. In 1892 a man named Homer Plessy was taking a train to from New Orleans, LA to Covington, LA. Plessy could easily pass for white but he was considered black by the law. Plessy decided that he was going to sit in the white car instead of the black car. He identified himself as a black male and was arrested. Plessy was arrested for violating and 1890 Louisiana statue. The statue provided...
Words: 334 - Pages: 2
...Ferguson set up the beginning of the Brown v. Board case. Plessy v. Ferguson was a case brought to the supreme court in 1896 fighting to see whether or not segregation of public facilities such as parks, schools, pools etc., were constitutional. Homer Plessy brought this to court because he refused to sit in the back of a train car meant for blacks. The supreme court came to the conclusion that Plessy’s rights had not been violated. They also came to the conclusion that the state law is just a legal distinction and it doesn’t violate the 13 or the 14th amendments. Ferguson winning this case allowed Jim Crow Laws could be enforced against the African American...
Words: 1120 - Pages: 5
...Did you know that until 1954 schools in America weren't allowing African American citizens to attend schools with white students? It's true a little girl named Linda Brown had to walk more than 2 miles to go to a segregated school. Until the Brown v. Board of Education case came. People were standing in line like it was Black Friday to be apart of that amazing change in history. Racism is when one group of people is treated less fairly than others because of their race. After the Civil War African Americans were granted freedom, however, that didn't pass by most people in the country. They would make sure these freed slaves and their children couldn't participate in elections. They also had to use separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, schools,...
Words: 362 - Pages: 2
...were many legal cases regarding segregation leading up to the Civil Rights Movement. One of the cases that caught people’s attention was Brown v. Board of Education. In order to understand this case we need to go back to Kansas in 1951. At the time Kansas stood apart from states in the South because segregation wasn’t really statewide. Instead Kansas gave cities with large populations of around 15,000 the ability to segregate their schools. Due to a Kansas Supreme Court decision in 1941 Topeka High School and several junior high schools were integrated because the Court found segregation unfair. By 1950 there were already 11 cases that challenged segregation in Kansas. McKinley Burnett the head of the NAACP Topeka chapter decided to file a 12th case in hopes that they could persuade Kansas to fully integrate the school system....
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...Topeka during the 1960’s Schools were segregated between races. An eight-year old black girl named Linda Carol Brown, was denied admission from an all-white school that was nearby her home. Linda was required to attend an all-black school that was distant from her house. Linda’s family then sued the Topeka Board of Education with the help of the NAACP. They argued that schools that were segregated were never going to be equal, thus made schools unconstitutional. Cases like this also happened in the states of Virginia, Delaware, and South Carolina. The court decided the separate but equal doctrine which marked the beginning of a long and hard battle to desegregate public schools. The court ruled against segregation, many areas has segregated schools that were either...
Words: 568 - Pages: 3
...The Brown Vs. Board of Education case started in the 1950's. Linda Brown was denied from a white school in Topeka, Kansas. Her father took the situation to court. He was appealed many times until finally he took it to the Supreme Court where nine justices ruled for him. This was only the beginning for the civil rights movement, because only Linda was allowed in the white school. Soon integration became a law for schools, but not for other workplaces, restaurants, or buses. If it weren't for Brown Vs. Board of Education, not many would have been inspired. After the case, nine African American children in Little Rock, Arkansas attempted to walk into school. Governor Orval Faubus had guards stand out to block their way. President Eisenhower...
Words: 336 - Pages: 2
...Ferguson unconstitutional, a feat that would immensely impact both white and black Americans and the course of how the country will run. Marshall, an African American himself, had become known for being involved in civil rights cases and was “trumpeted as the one man able to defend black Americans against the Klan, racist judges, and bigoted small-town cops” (McNeese). The opportunity for the Supreme Court take a stand against racism opened on December 9, 1952. The prosecution centered around the 14th Amendment which states, “No state has any authority under the equal protection of clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to use race as a factor in affording the educational opportunities among its citizens” (Constitution). The prosecution had a range of expert witnesses that they called to the stand to develop the disastrous effects that segregation has on young children. Dr. Hugh Speer, the chair of Education at the University of Kansas City, served as an expert witness to the trial after performing studies on the public schools in Topeka. He found that in every case the white schools were physically superior to the black schools (McNeese). Horace B. English, a psychology professor from Ohio State University, was deemed an expert witness and testified that segregation of black and white children teaches black students that they do not matter as much as white students and that expectations...
Words: 995 - Pages: 4
...BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA The Brown vs. Board of Education ruling was a colossal influence on desegregation of schools and a landmark in the movement for equal opportunity between the blacks and whites that continues to this day. The Brown vs. Board of Education case was not the first of its kind. Ever since the early 1950s, there were five separate cases that were filed, dealing with the desegregation of schools. In all but one of these cases, the schools for whites were of better quality than the schools for the blacks. The African-Americans argued that this situation was unjust and unconstitutional1. Education has been long regarded as a valuable asset for all of America's adolescence. However, when this benefit is deprived of to a specific group, measures must be taken to defend its educational right. In the 1950's, a courageous group of activists launched a legal attack on segregation in schools. The one who headed this attack was NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall. We find that his legal strategies would contribute wholly to the closure of educational segregation. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Congress passed the 14th amendment that stated that all people born in the United States are considered citizens. The 14th amendment also proclaims that individual states cannot make any laws to take away a person's right to life, liberty, or property. Segregation laws made it permissible to keep races distant as long as each race had its own access...
Words: 1328 - Pages: 6
...Before Little Rock, there had been many fights for equality. Some of the main cases are Plessy V. Ferguson and Brown V. Board of Ed. After the Plessy V. Ferguson case it was agreed upon that every school would stay separate, but had to be equal, and this created the Plessy Doctrine. How could it be equal if they were separate? Even though they were supposed to be equal, the resources and education were dramatically different. Later in 1954 Linda Brown’s father decided he was not going...
Words: 1557 - Pages: 7