Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas
Equal education is something that is taken for granted in the twenty-first century,
however this was not the case during the 1950’s. After the Supreme Court ruling on Plessy v.
Ferguson in 1896, school segregation was all too common during the 1950’s, as the “separate
but equal doctrine” was accepted. It was evident, however, that facilities for African Americans
and whites were clearly not equal, as the black community usually got the short end of the deal.
Among other lawsuits, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas attacked this doctrine in
1954, when Oliver Brown was rejected when he wanted to enroll is daughter into the closest
elementary school, which happened to be an all white school. Sumner Elementary School was
only seven blocks away, as opposed to her all black school, Monroe Elementary, that was a six
block walk just to her bus stop. Brown’s victory in the court case overturned the previous
“separate but equal doctrine,” paving the way for school integration and other Civil Rights
Movements.
The issue on school integration erupted in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Little Rock Nine
fought to be accepted in Central High School and experienced hardships throughout their high
school career to practice their equal rights attained by the 1954 Supreme Court ruling. One of the
Little Rock Nine, Melba Pattillo Beals, wrote a memoir, Warriors Don’t Cry, that illustrated her
life during the integration process. Numerous novels and films have been written, such as Glory
Road (2006) portraying the dilemmas that African Americans faced during this time, a time
when they had been given their rights, technically liberated from their cage, but at the same time,
trapped by their skin color.
Warriors Don’t Cry – by Melba Pattillo Beals
The Affects of Brown v. Board of Education on School Integration
Warriors Don’t Cry is a memoir of Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the Little Rock Nine. The
Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 ended mandatory
school segregation. Thus, after this decision, a group of African American children wanted to
utilize this right and go to a previously all white high school, Central High School, in Little
Rock, Arkansas. Their decision, however, was not embraced by their community, as the nine
“warriors” were threatened and still discriminated against. Beals accounts for a time when her
eight friends and their teachers were threatened to be hanged if they continued to attend Central
High School. She paints a picture of countless riots, insults,
and mob threats that were directed towards her and her
African classmates. She writes of a time when a few white
girls attacked her in the gym locker room, scalding her
with hot water in the shower. The Little Rock Nine
encounter similar situations as they are shunned by their
own governor, Governor Faubus, who sends the National
Guard to Central High to prevent them from entering.
Beals’s experience is taken from her diaries and her mother’s notes on the account,
formulating an accurate and profound understanding of the hardships that each African American
student dealt with during the beginnings of integration. A touching novel, the use of quotes from
President
Eisenhower
and members of the
NAACP during the time
provides for a detailed
understanding
affects of the Supreme
of
the
Court decision in 1954.
The
injustices
that
each of the Little Rock
Nine
suffered
will
always stay with them,
as they come back to
Central High School for
a
later, in the beginning of
the
reunion
novel.
decades
Each
student is successful in his or her own life, thus proving that the court’s decision and their own
struggle was worth the battle.
Glory Road
A Walt Disney Pictures Production (2006)
The Beginning of Integration in the United States
Glory Road is a heart-capturing movie of a collegiate basketball coach and his underdog
team in 1966. The movie is centered on a high school coach, Don Haskins, who loves winning –
winning with respect and courage, and most importantly, winning with heart. When his dreams
finally come true and he is asked to coach a collegiate basketball team, he moves his family to
Texas to coach the Texas Western
Miners. However, he realizes that in order
to win, he needs to play the African
Americans who, until now, have been
benched against the white players. He
recruits more African American players
and promises them playing time. By then,
the whole college community is stirring
by this bold coach’s actions. In the NCAA
championships, Coach Haskins makes the decision to start his African American players against
an all white team, sending a message to the country about segregation and integration. Winning
this championship, the players are able to show the world that they are equal to their white peers.
Glory Road is an inspirational movie, as the troubles of these African American college
basketball players are portrayed throughout the
film. The team is victimized in the different towns
they play in, as their hotel rooms are vandalized
and spray painted with obscene phrases, and as they
are beaten in diner bathrooms. However, their
victory in the game and in spirit is what makes this
movie motivational for the audience. Their
relentless faith and determination, and their coach’s
belief in their abilities are what truly make this a
profound and meaningful movie.