Supreme Court Decision
After the Ruling
NAACP lawyers congratulate each other on the
decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
Case Background
The case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas combined four cases challenging racial segregation in public schools. In addition to Topeka, districts in Delaware, South Carolina, and Virginia participated in the lawsuit.
In Brown v. Board, 13 parents of 20 students filed suit in the U.S District Court of Kansas to challenge the 1896 ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson, which made racial segregation legal through its "separate but equal" clause.
A Kansas statute allowed cities with populations of over 15,000 to provide separate schools for African-American and white students. These 13 parents were urged by the NAACP to enroll their children in neighborhood schools, rather than allow them to be bussed to one of the four African-American schools. Each of the students was denied enrollment.
When heard in the U.S District Court, the court concurred that segregation was harmful to the African-American students. However, the ruling itself favored the school board, and enrollment for these students was denied.
The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, where it was decided on May 17, 1954. In this landmark decision, the justices ruled unanimously on these points:
- Separate is inherently unequal.
"We conclude that in the field of public education, the doctrine of separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
- Look but don't merely compare tangible objects.
The Court looked at educational conditions of the segregated African American and white students in Clarendon (S.C.), New Castle (De.), and Prince Edward (Va.) counties, as well as in Topeka, Kansas and the District of Columbia. The findings were compiled for lower courts before reaching the Supreme Court. These conditions included:
- teacher qualifications
- pupil-teacher ratio
- curricula
- school buildings and facilities
- transportation modes and travel time to and from school
- extracurricular activities
- Learning is hurt by segregation, racism, stereotypes, or reduced student achievement expectations.
The Court found that the evils of racial segregation affected students’ motivation and retarded educational and mental development.
- Public education is an important government function.
The Court 50 years ago wrote:
"Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms."
- Education is a right, not a privilege.
The Court wrote: "In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he (or she) s denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms."
Massive resistance followed the decision. Rather than desegregate as ordered by the U. S. Supreme Court, some state governments defied the Court.
- National Guard troops were called out in Little Rock, Arkansas to escort African American students, such as Ruby Bridges, into formerly all white schools.
- The governor of Virginia closed public schools to thousands of students rather than desegregate.
- Public funds in the form of vouchers allowed white students to attend the private Prince Edward Academy rather than desegregate the schools in Prince Edward County – where one of the Brown cases originated.
- NEA staff and members donated time and money to educate students, Black and white, in desegregated, makeshift classrooms.
- Freedom of Choice schemes were used to circumvent desegregation. New York Times reporter Adam Cohen in his January 18 article "The Supreme Struggle" said "Southern states adopted legal tactics to stall integration, notably "freedom of choice" plans. In theory, freedom of choice allowed blacks to attend any school in a district, but black parents were threatened with losing their jobs and homes – and having crosses burned on their property – if they tried to send their children to white schools."
- The Supreme Court, clearly influenced by growing national support for civil rights, in 1968 the threw out "freedom of choice" in New Kent County, Va.