Brown V. Board Of education

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Background

• Plessy vs. Ferguson- "separate but equal"
• Insisted that 14th Amendment was being upheld
• Case was influenced by UNESCO'S "Race Question"
• Kenneth and Mamie Clark's "Doll Test"
• Thirteen plaintiffs were recruited by Topeka NAACP

PLaintiff: Oliver Brown

• Worked as a welder and assistant pastor 
• Lived in Sumner School District
• Daughter not allowed to attend Sumner Elementary
• Sued Topeka Board of Education

Thurgood Marshall

• Thurgood was born in Maryland and attended segregated school.
• Received his law degree from Howard University.
• Between 1934 and 1961 Thurgood traveled across the US.
• While traveling, he took part in cases involving racial inequality.
• One of these cases was the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Defendant: Board of education

• Class action suit was filed against Topeka Board of Education
• District Court ruled in favor of Board, citing Plessy v. Ferguson
• Judges agreed that separation had negative effects on Negro children
• Relief was denied on the grounds that schools were equal

Supreme Court Review

• Case heard before high court was combination of four cases
• Kansas case was unique due to lack of inequality in facilities
• Thurgood Marshall, Chief Counsel of NAACP, acted as lawyer
• Case emphasized whether conditions violated Fourteenth Amendment

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The Verdict

• Segregation in school is ruled illegal unanimously
• Segregation ruled harmful to African Americans
• Separate facilities breed inequality
• Violation of 14th Amendment

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Civilian Response

• Many African-Americans did not celebrate
• White people in North and West saw ruling positive
• Southern leaders and newspapers angrily voiced opinions 

Government response

• Byrd's "Massive Resistance"
• Shepperd attempts to block desegregation
• Faubus campaigns National Guard           
• Florida passes Interposition Resolution 
• Wallace's "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door"

AFTERMATH

• This case led to the Civil Rights Act
• Interracial contact has increased in schools
• Racism not as prominent

Matthew Cline
Matthew Ford
Brandon Shahim