Brown v Board of Education of Topeka

• Brown II was a case in 1955. Schools argued that they wanted "relief" for the desegregation. In Brown II, the court delegated school desegregation to district courts. They ordered that desegregation occur "with all deliberate speed." This meant that the schools could desegregate on their own time (some even took decades).
• Brown III occurred in 1978. Linda Brown Smith (Linda Brown from Brown v. BOE Topeka) was the plaintiff in this case. She had her own children in Topeka schools. She, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, was worried that given the option of open enrollment in the schools, voluntary segregation would occur. White parents would shift their children to "preferred" schools, creating predominantly black and predominantly white schools withiin the district. The district court denied the plaintiff's request.
• In 1994, magnet schools were opened, and district attendance plants (not open enrollment) were redrawn. So, the Topeka schools met court standards of desegregation in 1998.

Works Cited

Supreme Court Ruling

• At first, the Supreme Court justices were unable to decide on the issue. In June 1953, they decided they would rehear the arguments of all five cases (later that year).
• In September 1953, Earl Warren was appointed as the new Supreme Court Chief Justice. He helped break the divide. He made the justices come to a unanimous decision.
• Warren brought up the psychological effects segregated schools had on African American children. Then, the NAACP lawyers used research from 30 scientific studies to show that children in segregated African American schools had low self-esteem and self-esteem problems that affected their learning and education.
• Warren brought all the justices together. He showed them that the only reason the schools were segregated was because people believed in the inferiority of African Americans. He wanted a unanimous decision so the Southern states would not be able to object.
• The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that segregation of public schools deprived children of equal educational opportunities. They ruled that segregation harmed the educational development of African Americans. "Separate but equal" was found to be in violation of the 14th Amendment and unconstitutional. "Separate educational facilities are [were found to be ] inherently unequal."

• "Background Overview & Summary." Brown Foundation. Brown Foundation. Web. 20 July 2014. <http://brownvboard.org/content/background-overview-summary>.
• "Brown v. Board of Education." History. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 20 July 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka>.
• "Brown v. Board of Education (I)." The Oyez Project. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Web. 20 July 2014. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1952/1952_1/>.
• "Documents Related to Brown v. Board of Education." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 20 July 2014. <http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/brown-v-board/>.
• McBride, Alex. "Brown v. Board of Education (1954)." The Supreme Court. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, Dec. 2006. Web. 20 July 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html>.

Earl Warren

Lasting Effect of the Case

The case ruled that segregation of educational facilities was unconstitutional because it went against the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. That is a lastiing effect: no more segregation in public schools. This desegregation led to other acts of desegration (in all of those related court cases mentioned previously). Desegration of public areas, stores, bussing. neighborhoods, and many other things occurred. It started a domino effect of desegregation (lasting effect). It also helped the Civil Rights Act of 1964 get passed. It was a major stepping stone towards integration and the intertwining of whites and blacks into one society. Our society is completely desegregated today, and whites and blacks live together without turmoil.

Thurgood Marshall: NAACP's chief counsel.

He argued the case in front of the Supreme Court.

Seen Before the Supreme Court

Why was this case important? What Constitutional issues were questioned in this case?

• The case was combined with four other similar cases in front of the Supreme Court. The four other cases were Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County (Virginia), Briggs V. Elliott (South Carolina), Gebhart v. Belton (Delaware), and Bolling v. Sharpe (Washington DC).
• All of the cases were sponsored and pushed by the NAACP.
• All of the cases dealt with the desegregation of public schools.
• This grouping of the cases was beneficial to the plaintiffs because it showed that school segregation was a national issue, not just a southern issue.

• The main question was whether segregation of public schools based on race was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court had to decide whether the African American children (plaintiffs) were deprived of their right to equal protection laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
• Was segregation of public schools a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment?
• The 14th Amendment (1868) was one of the Civil War Amendments. It addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws. The Equal Protection Clause was designed to make sure blacks had all of the civil rights that whites had. It gave blacks protection under the federal government. It says that individuals in similar situations should be treated equally under the law.

Who wrote the important opinions, and what important constitutional points came from these?

• Earl Warren got all the justices to agree to his opinion and give a unanimous rulilng.
• The last two justices to be convinced were Roberty Jackson and Stanley Reed. They had the dissenting opinion, but they dropped it to back the majority opinion and give a unanimous ruling.
• Chief Justice Earl Warren gave the Majority opinion. He kept circulating and revising it until all the justices agreed.
• Because the ruling was unanimous, there was no Dissenting opinion.
• The important constitutional point that came from Warren's Majority opinion was the ruling of the case. "Separate education facilities [were found to be] unequal."
• Segregation in education was found to be unconstitutional.
• This got the ball rolling on the Civil Rights court cases.
• Another major constitutional point was that the 14th Amendment and its Equal Protection Clause protect students from segregation in schools.

First Steps of the Case

• The case was first taken to the District Court.
• The District Court ruled in favor of the defendant (Board of Education of Topeka). The court ruled this way because it believed that the state was following the ruling set by Plessy v. Ferguson of 1896. Plessy v. Ferguson stated that "separate but equal" segregated facilities, including public schools, were allowed and constitutional.
• The District Court found that the white and black schools in the school district in Topeka were "separate but equal" in terms of curriculum, educational qualifications of teachers, buildings, and transportation. So the district was not breaking any laws.

What other cases related to this case were affected?

A civil rights movement protest

• It helped with the cases that ended all segregation (not just in education).
• Cooper v. Aaron (1958) led to Federal court enforcement of desegregation. Boynton v. Virginia (1960) found racial segregation in public transportation to be unconstitutional.
• Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US held that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was constitutional.
• Guey Heung Lee v. Johnson found that the ruling of Brown v. BOE applied to all races. This case was for the desegregation of Asian schools.
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 found that using race as the only factor to assign students to schools was unconstitutional.

Linda Brown (age 9)

Brown II and Brown III

Details of the Case

• The plaintiffs wanted the school district (of Topeka, Kansas) to end racial segregation in its schools.
• The plaintiffs were recruited by the Topeka NAACP, just like other cases on segregation were recruited by the NAACPs of other cities.
• The case was named after Oliver L. Brown, the parent of Linda Brown. Linda Brown was a third grader who had to walk six blocks to get a to a bus stop to ride a bus to a school (Monroe Elementary) one mile away. She was not allowed to go to the white school (Summer Elementary) which was only seven blocks away from her house.
• The thirteen plaintiffs were Oliver Brown, Darlene Brown, Lena Carper, Sadie Emmanuel, Marguerite Emerson, Alma Lewis, Iona Richardson, and Lucinda Todd.
• All thirteen plaintiffs tried to enroll their children in the schools closest to their places of residence, and all thirteen were denied entrance to the white schools.

What other cases related to this case were affected?

Oliver L. Brown (named plaintiff)

• All five cases that were tried together received the same ruling. They all helped the US Supreme Court see that segregation of public schools was unconstutional.
• This case overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling (1896), which allowed segregation by states for "separate but equal."
• It paved the way for integration.
• It was a major victory of the civil rights movement.
• It led to Brown II (1955) and Brown III (1978).
• It helped with Hernandez v. Texas (1954), which ruled that the 14th Amendment protects all races, not just whites and blacks.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Background Information

• Who: The plaintiffs were 13 parents on behalf of their 20 children who went to school in the Topeka school district. The defendant was the Board of Education of the Topeka school district. The named plaintiff was Oliver L. Brown.
• What happened: The US Supreme Court ruled that state laws establishing segregation of public schools for blacks and whites to be unconstitutional.
• Where: Topeka, Kansas
• When: The case was argued for the first time on December 9, 1952. It was re-argued on December 8, 1953. The case was decided on May 17, 1954.

Sara Wallam