Brown+vs.+BOE

**How did the Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Board of Education, affect education in America?** 

History of Segregation: -Around the middle of the 20th century, most public schools were segregated because of various state and local laws. Many blacks were denyed admission to schools that whites attended because of these laws. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in the case Plessy v. Fergusun that "seperate but equal" was constitutional. This was soon was extented to other public areas in the South and "seperate but equal" was the law they all went by. This act was not true in the least bit though, especially not in the area of education, white schools were absoultly superior to black schools.

Background on the Plantiff:

-Oliver Brown, a resident of Topeka, Kansas sued the Board of Education because of his 3rd grader, Linda Brown. -Linda had to walk six blocks everyday to the bus stop to get to school. -She attended Monroe Elementary school which was over a mile away, even though Sumner Elementary was only seven blocks from her house.

Case:  Oliver Brown sued the Supreme Court of the United States to argue the issue of the Kansas law which segregated classrooms in public elementary and secondary schools. After the Plessy v. Ferguson court case about segregation, there were many other cases based along this same legal question. States such as South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware all had cases that revolved around the question of whether of not segregation is legal/illegal.

Section. 1. 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 any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. ||
 * ** 14th Amendment: [[image:http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/links/constitution.jpg width="279" height="182" align="right"]] **

"Does segregation of children public schools solely on the basis of race even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal education opportunities? We believe that it does." - Cheif Justice Warren

Ruling on the Case: - The plantiffs said that "segregated public schools are not equal and cannot be made equal, and hence deprive minorities of equal protection of their laws".

" We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "seperate but equal" has no place. Seperate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plantiffs and others similarity situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the fourteenth amendment."- Chief Justice Warren

-The Court's decision in the case of Brown v. B.O.E. reversed 58 years of the previous ruling in Plessy v. Fergusun. - It was ruled that segregation in public schools violates the 14th amendment and is there for unconstitutional.

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Other readings on Brown v. B.O.E. Bibliography