Brown v. Board of Education
60 th Anniversary

Post Civil War - Racial Tensions Still High
Voting rights were restricted through polling taxes, literacy tests, and terrorism by the KKK and others.
Example of an actual  literacy test from
Alabama

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, who was considered 1/8 th
African American, tried to sit in the all-white section of the train.
• He was arrested under the
Separate Car Act.
– What do you think the Separate
Car Act stands for?

Plessy v. Ferguson (continued)
Separate services were provided according to race – this was known as separate but equal .

Plessy v. Ferguson (continued)
• Justice Harlan, dissented (disagreed with the
Court’s decision): “Our Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law.”

Jim Crow Laws
• For the next 60 years after Plessy, segregation continued under what were called “Jim Crow” laws.
• The facilities for African-Americans were not as good as those for whites.

Jim Crow Laws
African American students usually did not have enough books or equipment and were often grossly under-funded than schools for whites.
What differences do you notice between these classrooms?

Brown v. Board of Education
• The result of years of legal battles in school districts across the country
– Motivated by the bravery of children,
– Their parents,
– and a determined team of lawyers.
Daisy Bates
(Student)
Attorney
Thurgood
Marshall

Brown v. Board of Education
• Legal challenges to segregated public schools from four different states:
– Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, and Virginia.
• Legal Argument: Separate can never be equal. Racial segregation violates the rights of equal protection, liberty, and the due process of law guaranteed by the Constitution.

Brown v. Board of Education
• The Court issued a unanimous decision in
Brown declaring that segregated schools are unequal and violate the Constitution.
• The doctrine of “separate but equal” was officially over.
• A new round of battles was about to begin.
HOW DO WE INTEGRATE OUR SCHOOLS?

Class Discussion
• What do you think the impact of the Brown v.
Board of Education decision was?
• How do you think the decision was received in communities?
• What do you think it would have felt like to go to school during this time?

Post Brown v. Board of Education
• Many see Brown as a great achievement of
American democracy and a critical moment in the Civil Rights Movement in the effort to make America a more fair and equal society.
• Other people, looking at continuing disparities in school funding, facilities, and opportunity, are frustrated with the lack of progress since
Brown.
• What do YOU think?