Brown+vs.+Board+of+Education

//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?**

**SETTING THE STAGE** - ** [|Participate in The Road to Justice activity] Were you successful? What did your learn in the activity (just think about it ....) **
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 * = **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.** ||  ||=   ||

** THE BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES (more than one) (check [|video], [|Link 1], [|Link 2] , [|Link 3] )** Make a bulleted list of the basic facts of the __cases__ brought to the Supreme Court Place: Topeka, Kansas Grievance: Segregated elementary schools, and the harmful psychological effects of segregation on African American children Plaintiffs: Oliver Brown and 13 other parents from Topeka Decision: A three-judge federal court ruled against the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs’ appeal reached the U.S. Supreme Court. ** THE MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF (for integration) (check [|Link 1] )** List the major arguments of the plaintiffs ** THE MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS (for segregation) (check [|Link 1] )** List the major arguments of the Defendants ** THE CHANGE IN THE COURT (leading to a decision) (check** [|**Link 1**] **)** What important change happened in the Supreme Court, and what was its impact? The head justice died and a new one was appointed. His leadership produced lead to a unanimous decision to overturn the Plessy case. ** THE COURT DECISION (in your own words) (check** [|**Link 1**] **and Link 2)** What did the Supreme Court decide in the landmark decision? The framers did not permit the 14th amendment to segregate public education. Any segregation of education deprives children of a good learning environment. **ENFORCING THE DECISION (discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check [|Link 1] ** [|Video]) What was the Court's statement about the enforcement of the decision? What happened to the enforcement? The decision was vague and therefore hard to enforce. This allowed Segregationists to resist enforcement.  **THE IMPACT and LEGACY** **(Check** [|**Link 1**] **)**  What is the overall importance and legacy of //Brown v. Board//?  The freedom struggle gained publicity. this led to lots of uprisings and future reforms.
 * In //Plessy v. Ferguson,// the Supreme Court had misinterpreted the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal protection of the laws did not allow for racial segregation.
 * The Fourteenth Amendment allowed the government to prohibit any discriminatory state action based on race, including segregation in public schools.
 * The Fourteenth 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.
 * The Constitution did not require white and African American children to attend the same schools.
 * Social separation of blacks and whites was a regional custom; the states should be left free to regulate their own social affairs.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1d1c14; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; text-align: left;">Segregation was not harmful to black people.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1d1c14; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; text-align: left;">Whites were making a good faith effort to equalize the two educational systems. But because black children were still living with the effects of slavery, it would take some time before they were able to compete with white children in the same classroom.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: right;">Joey: SCRIPT FOR BROWN V. BOARD INTERVIEW

Interviewees: John W. Davis, James Lindsey Almond Jr. Interviewer: Andy Pickart

Andy: Thank you John W. Davis and James Lindsey Almond for joining us in this interview today. Davis, you were the lead attorney for South Carolina, and James, you for Virgina. Would you mind explaining some of the arguments you used to defend segregated schooling?

Joey: Well first of all, the constitution did not require white and black children to attend the same schools. Secondly, we were making a good faith effort to equalize the two educational systems.

Andy: So far, these effects are not visible. Do you have an explanation for this?

Max: well, because black children are still recovering from the effects of slavery, integration is a fragile process, and will take some time.

Andy: Interesting. Did you use any other points to defend your position?

Max: Well, we think social separation of blacks and whites should be regulated by the states, because it is a regional custom. We pointed this out to the court.

Joey: Not only that, segregation is not harmful to any race.

Andy: However, some people think otherwise. Can you provide some examples of why segregation is not harmful?

Joey: Once again, states are doing what they can to equalize segregated schooling. When two schools provide the same education, there is no harm in going to one or the other.

Andy: If this is the case, where is the problem with having one school for all races.

Max: It is ingrained in our tradition to have blacks separated from whites. Also, many believe in the intellectual inferiority of blacks, and we fear that putting them in the same school might hinder white student’s education.

Andy: I see. Thank you for your time. I appreciate your responses to these commonly asked questions.