History Southern Manifesto and Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka

On May 17, 1954, in the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, the High Court, for the first time in American legal history, challenged the “separate but equal” doctrine previously established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and outlawed racial segregation in public schools. The decision, igniting fierce debates throughout the country, was met with violence and strong defiance in the South. The years after Brown, however, saw the passing of several important Acts: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Today, Americans remember Brown v. Board of Education as a success in African Americans’ struggle for equal rights, a change of sea tide for the civil rights movement. While

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was a milestone in American history, as it began the long process of racial integration, starting with schools. Segregated schools were not equal in quality, so African-American families spearheaded the fight for equality. Brown v. Board stated that public schools must integrate. This court decision created enormous controversy throughout the United States. Without this case, the United States may still be segregated today.

On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas . State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment states; “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law, which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to

Brown v. Board of Education ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional and that students should be segregated. This decision was intended to allow an African-American student to attend a previously all-white school that was nearer to her home than the school she had been attending.

The Southern Manifesto served the disfavor that many White Americans in the South held towards the idea of racial integration with African Americans in the United States circa the 1950's. One of the main quarrels it attacks is the ruling of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education, a Topeka case between Oliver L. Brown and the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The document incredibly disavows the case of Brown vs Board of Education Topeka, as it was a landmark case in the fight for the civil rights of African Americans. The author’s in the document exemplify the Supreme Court’s conclusion that the segregation of public school was unconstitutional, calling for the immediate integration of all public schools, as the faulty scorn of power in the judiciary system. Many high-ranking people in the US resented the court ruling and decided to act against it in the form of the manifesto.

On May 17, 1954, the Court unanimously came to an agreement that ‘separate but equal’ public schools for blacks and whites was considered unconstitutional. The Brown case served as a catalyst for the modern civil right movement, and this encouraged education reform everywhere and formed the basis of fighting against segregation in all areas of society.

In 1950 the Reverend Oliver Brown of Topeka, Kansas, wanted to enroll his daughter, Linda Brown, in the school nearest his home (Lusane 26). The choices before him were the all-white school, only four blocks away, or the black school that was two miles away and required travel (26). His effort to enroll his daughter was spurned (26). In 1951, backed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, he filed suit against the Topeka school board and his case was joined by three other similar cases that were presented before the Supreme Court as one consolidated case (26). On May 17, 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court issued one of its most historic rulings. The single most

The Brown vs Board of education ruling of 1954 was a unanimous Supreme Court decision that ended segregation in public schools. This ruling gave the civil right movement a much needed win which energized activists in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Brown vs Board of education represented a tangible win and a real life implementation of the civil right movement success. The decision changed African American daily lives.

Later, in 1954, The Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v the Board of Education, overturned the ruling in Plessy v Ferguson. The case Brown v Board of Education was the result of a class action suit filed by 13 Topeka, Kansas parents on behalf of their children (20 kids) (Manz 2004). The law suit requested that the school district allow children of color to attend their home school. The School district imposed an (equal but separate) segregation law within the elementary school system, which was permitted by law but not required (Manz 2004). According to Horton and Moresi, it was difficult to pass legislation, because “the views of one African American were not the views of all African Americans” (2001). They mention that some African American parents felt that

These schools were the result of the Plessy v Ferguson Case and they were created for equality within the school system. On December 9, 1952, when the case of Brown v Board of Education arose, the aim of case was to bring down the Plessy v. Ferguson's “separate but equal” school systems. The case was a combination of four other cases arising in separate states that correlated with the segregation of public schools based on race. The three judges at the U.S district court ruled in favor of the school board. Then an appeal was filed that led the case to be taken to the U.S Supreme Court. Brown argued that the segregation violated the “Equal Protection Clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment forbids the states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons, which provided citizenship for blacks. The case was argued on December ninth through the eleventh in 1952. Then a year later reargued on December seventh through the

Board of Education created the foundation for other court cases to desegregate schools on grounds other than race. The Brown decision inspired advocates for children identified with disabilities to pursue desegregation and other equality strategies (Minow, 2004). Thanks to Brown, students with disabilities are able to attend schools with children their own age. While this case is over 60 years old, America can still see and feel the influence of its verdict.

The Supreme Court case Brown v. The Board of Education began in 1950 with an eight year old girl. Linda Brown, a black third grader in Topeka, Kansas grew up in a time where schools were segregated based on race. By 1950 Topeka, Kansas had 18 schools for white children and only four for black children. To get to her all-black school, Linda was forced to walk over a mile. Her trek was riddled with difficulties from the bitter cold of winter to the dangerous journey through a railroad switch-yard. Ironically, Linda only lived seven blocks away from an all-white school called Sumner, a ten minute walk for the third grader. Her father, Oliver Brown, did not want his daughter to endure hardships just to get to school. He brought the case to the

Even before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, lawmakers were attempting to right the wrongs of over two hundred and forty five years of slavery and oppression of minorities in the United States. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a directive forbidding defense contractors from using racially discriminatory hiring practices (Week) and on May 17, 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the provisions of Plessy v. Ferguson, which allowed for “separate but equal” public facilities, including public schools. The unanimous decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas declared that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” thus ending federal tolerance of racial segregation and igniting

Brown v Board of Education (Brown) (1954) marked a historic victory for civil rights in the United States. Chief Justice Warren declared the “Separate but Equal” doctrine unconstitutional, thereby moving the nation one step closer to a more integrated society. However, despite Brown’s monumental win for racial equality, it is undoubtedly obvious that the Court overstepped its boundaries in trying to push for progress. In Brown, the Court was unjustified in its actions to overrule Plessy v Ferguson (Plessy) (1896) and violated its constitutional limit in order to promote racial integration in public education.

On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court declared that segregated schools were unconstitutional. The Brown v. Board of Education decision was historic because the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional and paved the way to end racial segregation in schools. This effectively put an end to separate and unequal education in America.