Brown+V.+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?**

**Using 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**]

**BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES** **(more than one) (check video, [|Link 1], [|Link 2] , [|Link 3] )**


 * Many local activist for the NAACP and African American parents challenged Topeka for its policy on segregation
 * The court ruled against the plaintiffs who then went to the US Supreme Court
 * This case helped lead to equality among races
 * Supreme Court decided that segregation was unconstitutional

**MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF** **(for integration) (check [|Link 1] )**


 * Equal protection of the laws did not allow for racial segregation
 * The Fourteenth Amendment did not specify whether the states would be allowed to establish segregated education
 * Segregation has harmful effects on the minds of African American children

**MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS** **(for segregation) (check [|Link 1] )**


 * The Constitution didn't say that white and African American kids have to attend the same schools
 * Segregation isn't harmful to black people
 * Separation of blacks and whites was a regional custom
 * Blacks have been affected by slavery, so it will be harder for them to compete with white children in a classroom

**THE CHANGE IN THE COURT** **(leading to a decision) (check** [|**Link 1**] **)**

The Chief Justice, Fred Vinson, died, so Earl Warren became chief justice. The impact was that the court became unanimous in deciding to overturn // Plessy, // which changed the course of American History.

Segregation has a bad effect on African American children, and segregation deprives African Americans of equal protection and due process, under the Fourteenth and Fifth Amendments. So segregation in education is unconstitutional.
 * THE COURT DECISION** **(in your own words) (check** [|**Link 1**] **and Link 2)**
 * ENFORCING THE DECISION** **(discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check [|Link 1] )**

"With All Deliberate Speed" declared that everything dealing with segregation of Blacks and Whites is to be considered as unconstitutional. Some whites especially southerners weren't very happy about the decision, so some revolted.

**THE IMPACT and LEGACY** **(Check** [|**Link 1**] **)** Many people were mad about the decision. Fifty years after the case, the movement came to include racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, and other groups, each demanding equal opportunity.