In class this week we were able to watch our classmates take on the case of Brown vs the Board of Education. This was a Consolidation case of equal rights. This case fought against segregation in the school system on the basis of skin color. During this time, schools were divided between white children and children of color.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka
Brown was fighting the board of education to have classroom segregation end. He wanted everyone to receive equal education together no matter the color of their skin.. The lawyers for Brown agreed that it was unconstitutional for discriminatory to occur in schools. They said that the Constitution was “color blind.” They related this case to another famous case, Plessy vs. Ferguson . They compared the cases in order to make the point that racial discrimination in schools is immoral, and unethical just as it is on trains. They explained that morally one cannot single out a group of people.
The lawyers also argued that school segregation was harming African American children because in the future they will think they cannot live up to their potentials. Lastly, they said one cannot pick their race; it is an immutable trait, something they are born with and should not be harmed because of it.
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/spring/brown-v-board-1.html#:~:text=On%20May%2017%2C%201954%2C%20the,schools%20in%20twenty%2Done%20states.
The lawyers on the side of the board of education argued that it was not a financially stable idea to end segregation in school. Tax payers would need to pay for more desks, teachers, and supplies which were not needed.
They said that there was a different level of intelligence between races and that the African American children would struggle in classes with white children. They put forth the idea that African Americans have a harder time learning because their families do not have the skills to teach them.
The lawyers explained that both races, although segregated, were receiving outstanding educations that they were guaranteed, and if they were to put them in the same class African American students would be hindered due to the pace of the school. Their final point was that in all Black classrooms teachers could teach the children at a slower pace in order to help them comprehend the content. In their opinions, school segregation was the absolute best idea.
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483
The court sided with Brown and agreed that school segregation was discriminatory and wrong. This decision ended segregation in the classroom. It overrode the “separate but equal” clause from Plessy vs Ferguson; and was a huge step in our history as it pertained to education and civil rights in general.
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