Brown+vs.+Broad


 * //BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION//


 * What would break the back of Jim Crow America? What role did education play in the movement to desgregate America?**




 * = **Using the the links provided, analyze the landmark Supreme Court case //Brown v. Board of Education//. Cut and paste the information below into a new entry on your Unit 8 Online Notebook.** ||

**SETTING THE STAGE** - **[|Participate in The Road to Justice activity]**

Briggs et al v Elliott et al.
 * BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES (more than one) (check video, [|Link 1], [|Link 2], [|Link 3])**
 * African Americans asked for a school bus for their children
 * County denied request
 * They raised the stakes and demanded that their children have the right to attend white school
 * Place: South Caroline
 * Grievance: Starkly unequal, segregated schools for black and white children.
 * Decision: A federal district court ruled against the plaintiffs. Their appeal reached the Supreme Court.

Brown et al. v. the Board of Education
 * African American parents challenged Topeka''s policy of segregated schooling.
 * Wanted child to go to a white school
 * ** Place: Topeka, Kansas
 * Grievance: Segregated elementary school and the harmful psychological effects of segregation on African American children
 * Decision: a three-judge federal court ruled against plaintiffs. The plaintiffs reached the Supreme Court.

Davis v. the School Board of Prince Edward County
 * African American students fought their battle for access to equal education
 * Organized a strike
 * Place: Virginia
 * Grievance: Overcrowded, underfunded segregated school for African American children
 * Decision: A federal district court ruled against the plaintiffs, their appeal reached the Supreme Court

Bulha v. Gebhart and Belton v. Gebhart
 * A group of African American parents sought to challenge state-enforced segregation.
 * Place: Delaware
 * Grievance: Segregated school far from the homes and neighborhoods of African American children
 * Decision: A state court ruled in favor of plaintiffs, an appeal to the state supreme court and the Supreme Court followed.

List the major arguments of the plaintiffs
 * MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF (for integration) (check [|Link 1])**
 * Plessy v Ferguson
 * Supreme Court had misinterpretation the equal protection clause, equal protection of the laws did not allow for the racial segregation
 * 14th amendment allowed the government to prohibit any discriminatory state action based on race, including segregation in public schools (violated 14th amendment)
 * 14th amendment did not specify whether the states would be allowed to establish segregated education
 * Psychological testing demonstrated the harmful effects of segregation on the minds of African American children (black dolls vs. white dolls)
 * Segregation is not equal

List the major arguments of the Defendants
 * MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS (for segregation) (check [|Link 1])**
 * Constitution did not require white and African American children to attend the same schools.
 * Social separation was a regional custom; states should be left free to regulate their own social affairs
 * Segregation was not harmful
 * Whites were making a good faith effort to equalize the two educational systems.
 * If they did integrate, it would harm the blacks because they were behind.

What important change happened, and what was its impact? In September 1953, Chief Justice Fred Vinson died and President Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as Chief justice. His leadership in producing a unanimous decision to overturn Plessy changed the course of American history. (Warren- very influential and persuasive chief justice, decided separate but equal was unconstitutional. Was not enforced right away. This allowed resistance to grow).
 * THE CHANGE IN THE COURT (leading to a decision) (check** [|**Link 1**]**)**

 ** THE COURT DECISION (in your own words) (check** [|**Link 1**] **and Link 2)** What did the Court decide? Earl Warren wrote the decision, he agreed that it was not clear the 14th amendment intended to permit segregated schools. He also said education i s very important towards the federal and state government, and racial segregation deprived African Americans of equal protection.

**ENFORCING THE DECISION (discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check [|Link 1] ** **)**  What was the Court's statement about the enforcement of the decision? What happened to the enforcement? The Court ordered only the states end segregation with "all deliberate speed," This gave segregationists the opportunity to build resistance.

What is the overall importance and legacy of //Brown v. Board//?
 * THE IMPACT and LEGACY** **(Check** [|**Link 1**]**)**
 * African American freedom struggle spread across the nation
 * Battle for school desegregation became part of broader campaigns for social justice
 * 50 yrs. later, the movement included racial and ethnic minorities, women, and other groups demanding equal opportunity.