I hope this finds you well.
Most of us are familiar with Brown v. Board
of Education.
It is the landmark case that did away with
the doctrine of separate but equal.
In this video we are going to look at the
particulars of the case but before we do,
lets look at a timeline of laws and cases
that led to this significant ruling.
A full reading of the case is available on
this channel if you'd like to hear it for
yourself.
In 1857, Dred Scott, v. Sanford denied citizenship
to African Americans, allowing for their categorization
as second class citizens.
In 1865 the 13th amendment abolished slavery
in the U.S. and Congress established the Freedmen's
Bureau allowing for the first black schools
including Howard University where Thurgood
Marshall attended law school.
1865 also saw the birth of the black codes
ushering in segregation.
Public schools were segregated, and Blacks
were barred from serving on juries, and testifying
against Whites.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 guaranteed Blacks
basic economic rights to contract, sue, and
own property.
In 1868, The 14th Amendment to the Constitution
was ratified and overruled Dred Scott v. Sanford.
In 1875 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act
of 1875, prohibiting discrimination in inns,
theaters, and other places of public accommodation.
In 1883, The Supreme Court overturned the
Civil Rights Act of 1875, and declared that
the Fourteenth Amendment does not prohibit
discrimination by private individuals or businesses.
In 1887 segregation known as "Jim Crow" emerged.
In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson established the
“separate but equal” doctrine.
In 1927, in Gong Lum v. Rice the Supreme Court
held that a Mississippi school district may
require a Chinese-American girl to attend
a segregated Black school rather than a White
school.
In 1935, the NAACP began challenging segregation
in graduate and secondary schools.
In 1938, The Supreme Court decided in favor
of Lloyd Gaines, a Black student who had been
refused admission to the University of Missouri
Law School.
In 1948, The Supreme Court unanimously held
that a black woman could not be denied entrance
to a state law school solely because of her
race.
In 1950, The Supreme Court held that the University
of Texas Law School had to admit a Black student
in Sweatt v. Painter.
Also in 1950, the Supreme Court invalidated
the University of Oklahoma's requirement that
a Black student, admitted to a graduate program
unavailable to him at the state's Black school,
sit in separate sections of or in spaces adjacent
to the classroom, library, and cafeteria.
Finally, In 1954, we get the ruling from Brown
v. Board of Education.
The case was decide by unanimous vote on May
17, 1954.
Chief Justice Warren authored the opinion.
The question the court had to answer was whether
segregation in public schools based on race,
deprive african american children of equal
protection of the law?
Said differently, does segregation violate
the 14th amendment?
Here are the facts.
The case was composed of five cases from the
states of Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia,
and Delaware.
All of the cases related to the segregation
of public schools on the basis of race and
all of the plaintiffs were minors, represented
by their parents.
All of the schools involved were equalized,
or were being equalized, with respect to tangibles
such as; buildings, curricula, qualifications,
and the salaries of teachers, among a number
of other factors.
But the court made clear that it was examining
the effect of segregation on public education,
not just the tangibles.
The Children were Vicki Henderson, Donald
Henderson, Linda Brown, James Emanuel, Nancy
Todd, and Katherine Carper.
Thurgood Marshall, was instrumental in the
case, arguing on behalf of a number of the
plaintiffs before the supreme court.
He later became the first African American
Supreme Court Justice in U.S. history.
In four of the five cases a three-judge federal
district court denied relief to the plaintiffs
based on the "separate but equal" doctrine.
In the Delaware case, however, the Supreme
Court of Delaware followed the separate but
equal doctrine, but ordered that the plaintiffs
be admitted to the white schools because they
were superior to black schools.
The Supreme court consolidated the cases and
heard oral arguments in December of 1952 and
1953.
The plaintiffs argued that segregated schools
were not "equal" and could not be made "equal,"
therefore they were being deprived of equal
protection of the law.
The court began by highlighting the importance
of education.
Calling it perhaps the most important function
of state and local governments, and the foundation
of good citizenship.
The court went on to state that it is difficult
for a child to succeed in life when denied
the opportunity of an education.
I couldn't agree more.
And education is a right which must be made
available to all individuals on equal terms.
When it comes down to the Segregation of public
schools, the court pointed out that segregation
is inherently detrimental to the black students
because it implies inferiority of the black
students.
In conclusion, the court overruled Plessy
v. Ferguson.
And announced that “separate but equal”
facilities are inherently unequal and violate
the protections within the Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Linda Brown, the cases namesake, would go
on to attend college and later became a civil
rights activist.
Thanks for watching.
