The History of Brown v. Board of Education Essay

It is known that the revolutionary decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) can be viewed as an evolutionary “legal crusade” mounted by Charles Hamilton Houton, Thurgood Marshall the N.A.A.C.P., et al.  The Court’s decision in this case placed emphasis on the significance of desegregation of America’s schools. The foundation of the decision lies in relationships between the races (Kluger 703). According to researchers, the evolution of segregation in education is associated with the “Supreme Court’s decisions relevant to desegregation and the contributions made by social scientists to the Brown decision” (Stephan & Feagin 3). In order to describe the nature and meaning of the appellate process and how Supreme Court precedents are establish and overturned, it is necessary to detail the major steps taken to eliminate Plessy (called ” a mockery of the Constitution”), concluding in Brown that the doctrine of “separation but equal has no place.”

To start with, Brown v. Board of Education (1954) held that the racial segregation of children in schools was the violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Although the Court’s decision failed to succeed in ensuring full desegregation of education in the United States, it directed the Constitution to addressing the issue of racial equality and influenced the development of the civil rights movement. In fact, racial segregation of schools was made legal by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).  The Court ruled that segregated public facilities were legal as long as the black and white facilities were equal to each other. The Court’s decision in Plessy provided judicial sanction to the expansion of segregation protected by the myth of “separate but equal.” Hence, the decision in Brown v. Board of Education was a rejection of the moral mockery of the decision in Plessy. In addition, it was the legal strategy of the N.A.A.C.P., which was aimed at overthrowing the legal support for the spread of racial segregation in practically all areas of human life.  The appellate process took much time. The judges issued a document, namely Findings of Facts, which contained the basic information regarding the legal testimony, accepted as true evidence in the case. The Findings of Facts provided the opinions of psychologists and social scientists. For example, there was Kanas Court’s claim that “segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children.” This fact means the federal court acknowledged the fact that segregation had negative impact on African Americans in the United States. This finding was used by the N.A.A.C.P. lawyers to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of the United States. In addition, there were many other cases that involved the issues of racial segregation. Eventually, these cases were combined with Brown v. Board of Education to continue the so-called segregation battles, which were aimed at elimination of the Court’s decision in Plessy.

Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) contributed to the development of the gradual process of desegregation in the American system of education. The landmark decision was issued on May 17, 1954, prohibiting legal segregation in America’s schools. In addition, the second ruling of the US Supreme Court  declared that desegregation of schools should continue with “all deliberate speed” (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, 1954). Finally, certain steps were taken to eliminate the Court’s decision in Plessy, including the appellate process of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the emergence of a large number of other segregation-related cases, which were combined with Brown v. Board of Education.

 

Works Cited

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Retrieved from:<https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/347/483/case.html>

Kluger, Richard. Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011. Print.

Stephan, Walter G. & Feagin, Joe R. School Desegregation: Past, Present, and Future. Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. Print.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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