Separate is inherently unequal-1954
Background: Linda Brown was a third-grader who wanted to go to Sumner Elementary school in Topeka, Kansas but she could not. Why? The color of her skin. Brown started a journey that culminated in six combined court cases all dealing with the same issue, can people be barred from public education because of their skin color? Is the 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but equal facilities" (which was on May 188th coincidentally) were acceptable actually acceptable? This four-year journey swept up other intelligent, ambitious African American students across America, including Dorothy E. Davis of Prince Edward County, Virginia and culminated in the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court. Nine white men decided to settle the issue once and for all in the spring of 1954. What Happened? In a startling landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 to overturn the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Their proclamation was that "separate facilities were inherently unequal" This sent shockwaves throughout the country. Reaction varied from mass celebrations to outright massive resistance to a perceived federal overreach. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the lead decision in a scathing opinion that proclaimed that segregation had instinctively created a stigma and badge of inferiority on African Americans. Who Cares? Once again the consequences were plentiful on this one. 1. The NAACP officially had their strategy to fight for Civil Rights, through the courts. With Congress mired by white Southern Democrats and an Oval Office most concerned with maintaining the "culture of consensus", the courts appeared to be the best vehicle for change. For years the legal team had pecked away at old Jim Crow but this bite launched what is officially known as "The Civil Rights Movement". 2. Thurgood Marshall, the lead lawyer, becomes a legend and this win will ultimately propel him to become the first African American Supreme Court judge. 3. This decision launched the career of the most famous judicial activist Earl Warren. Just appointed to the board less than a year earlier, Warren used is political background to campaign for votes on this key decision and guarantee a 9-0 decision to try to suppress dissent nationally. Warren would go on to give pretty much all the landmark cases of the 20th century including Miranda v. Arizona, Mapp v. Ohio, Tinker v. Des Moines and so much more. No judge has written more decisions about civil rights and civil liberties than Warren. 4. Unfortunately, Brown v. Board of Education would contain one fundamental flaw: it lacked a timeline for implementation. That oversight was so obvious that it forced the court to clarify its decision months later it what was known as Brown v. Board II. In it, the court said that the states should take "all deliberate speed" when implementing integration. This wishy-washy phrase gave rise to massive resistance. Public schools throughout the South shut down, private schools emerged, home schooling went up and the fight over school boundary lines raged up until today. As much as we celebrate this day we must acknowledge the limitations, as evidenced by this article.
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