Name: ___________________ Thurgood Marshall: Background Information Date: ____________________ Reading Comprehension Questions Background: During the 1890s, a number of court decisions and state laws severely limited African American rights. In 1890, Louisiana passed a law requiring railroads to provide “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.” Homer Plessy, a man of mixed raced (half white/half black), bought a first-­‐‑
class ticket and boarded the “whites only” car of the East Louisiana Railroad. After Plessy took his seat, he was asked to move to the blacks-­‐‑only car, and he refused. He was arrested and the case was challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court in 1896. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court ruled that separate accommodations did not violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the court upheld the doctrine of separate but equal. As a result of the Plessy decision, states throughout the South amplified passage of what were known as Jim Crow laws, aimed at separating the races. After the end of World War II, many African American soldiers, who had fought valiantly against fascism in Europe, came home and began fighting against discriminatory policies in America. This fight to end discriminatory policies after WWII would give birth to the Civil Rights Movements of the 1950s and 1960s. A key player in the fight to end segregation was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP employed a legal strategy to fight against discrimination. In 1938, Thurgood Marshall was placed in charge of a team of the best law students in the organization. Over the next 23 years, Marshall and his NAACP lawyers would win 29 out of 32 cases argued before the Supreme Court. Several of those cases became legal milestones, each chipping away at the segregation platform of Plessy v. Ferguson. Thurgood Marshall’s most stunning victory came on May 17, 1954, in the case known as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In this case, the father of eight-­‐‑year-­‐‑old Linda Brown had charged the board of education of Topeka, Kansas, with violating Linda’s rights by denying her admission to an all-­‐‑white elementary school four blocks away from her house. The nearest all-­‐‑black school was 21 blocks away. In the landmark verdict, the Supreme Court unanimously struck down segregation in school as an unconstitutional violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Brown decision was relevant for some 12 million schoolchildren in 21 states. This case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and set in motion the fight to desegregate schools all over America. 1. What state passed a law stating that railroads provide “equal but separate” accommodations for their passengers? 2. Why was Homer Plessy arrested? 3. What was the decision in the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling? 4. Why did so many African Americans return home after WWII determined to fight against discriminatory policies? 5. What does the NAACP stand for? 6. How many court cases did Thurgood Marshall and his lawyers argue in front of the Supreme Court? 7.Why did Linda Brown’s dad sue the board of education in Topeka? 8. True or False: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. 9. How many students across the country were impacted by the Brown decision? 10. What does “desegregate” mean? Name: ___________________ Date: ____________________ Thurgood Marshall: Background Information KEY Background: During the 1890s, a number of court decisions and state laws severely limited African American rights. In 1890, Louisiana passed a law requiring railroads to provide “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.” Homer Plessy, a man of mixed raced (half white/half black), bought a first-­‐‑
class ticket and boarded the “whites only” car of the East Louisiana Railroad. After Plessy took his seat, he was asked to move to the blacks-­‐‑only car, and he refused. He was arrested and the case was challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court in 1896. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court ruled that separate accommodations did not violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the court upheld the doctrine of separate but equal. As a result of the Plessy decision, states throughout the South amplified passage of what were known as Jim Crow laws, aimed at separating the races. After the end of World War II, many African American soldiers, who had fought valiantly against fascism in Europe, came home and began fighting against discriminatory policies in America. This fight to end discriminatory policies after WWII would give birth to the Civil Rights Movements of the 1950s and 1960s. A key player in the fight to end segregation was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP employed a legal strategy to fight against discrimination. In 1938, Thurgood Marshall was placed in charge of a team of the best law students in the organization. Over the next 23 years, Marshall and his NAACP lawyers would win 29 out of 32 cases argued before the Supreme Court. Several of those cases became legal milestones, each chipping away at the segregation platform of Plessy v. Ferguson. Thurgood Marshall’s most stunning victory came on May 17, 1954, in the case known as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In this case, the father of eight-­‐‑year-­‐‑old Linda Brown had charged the board of education of Topeka, Kansas, with violating Linda’s rights by denying her admission to an all-­‐‑white elementary school four blocks away from her house. The nearest all-­‐‑black school was 21 blocks away. In the landmark verdict, the Supreme Court unanimously struck down segregation in school as an unconstitutional violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Brown decision was relevant for some 12 million schoolchildren in 21 states. This case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and set in motion the fight to desegregate schools all over America. Reading Comprehension Questions 1. What state passed a law stating that railroads provide “equal but separate” accommodations for their passengers? Louisiana 2. Why was Homer Plessy arrested? He refused to move to the all-­‐‑black section of the train. 3. What was the decision in the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling? That the doctrine of separate but equal was constitutional and that it did not violate the 14th Amendment 4. Why did so many African Americans return home after WWII determined to fight against discriminatory policies? They had sacrificed a lot, and had fought to end fascism abroad 5. What does the NAACP stand for? National association for the advancement of colored people 6. How many court cases did Thurgood Marshall and his lawyers argue in front of the Supreme Court? 32 7.Why did Linda Brown’s dad sue the board of education in Topeka? They were making his daughter go to a school 21 blocks away 8. True or False: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. True 9. How many students across the country were impacted by the Brown decision? 12 million 10. What does “desegregate” mean? integrate, unite.