Brown+vs.+Board


 * 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] )** Make a bulleted list of the basic facts of the cases brought to the Supreme Court
 * Slavery was never legally established in Kansas
 * Buses and railroads were integrated public places were segregated
 * School segregation was permitted in elementary schools
 * ruled against the plaintiffs
 * segregated schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment and hurt black students and the judge agreed
 * Court ruled that Brown had won and desegregation would begin in public schools
 * //Brown v. Board of Education// was a good starting point for the expanstion of civil rights
 * The //Brown// decision started educational and social reform
 * Segregation declared unconstitutional

**MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF** **(for integration) (check [|Link 1] )** List the major arguments of the plaintiffs
 * 14th Amendment allowed the Government to stop discrimination by the state including segregation in public schools
 * misinterpritation of equal protection in the Fourteenth Amendment
 * need to all work toghether for society can prosper and we need to educate all kids
 * a test was done that demonstrated the harmful effects of segregation of schools on African Americans

**MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS** **(for segregation) (check [|Link 1] )** List the major arguments of the Defendants
 * Social separation of blacks and whites was a regional custom; the states should be left free to regulate their own social affairs
 * 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
 * Segregation was not harmful to black people
 * The Constitution didn’t require white and African American children to attend the same schools

**THE CHANGE IN THE COURT** **(leading to a decision) (check** [|**Link 1**] **)** What important change happened, and what was its impact? The Supreme Court decided to hear the Brown v. Board of Education Case. Many worried that they did not have the power to change it and inforce it. Justice Fred Vinson died and President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as chief justice caused a unanimous decision to overturn //Plessy//. Earl Warren wrote the decision for the Court and agreed with the civil rights attorneys that it wasn’t clear whether the framers of the 14th Amendment intended to permit segregated public education. Education was perhaps the most vital function of state and local governments, and racial segregation of any kind deprived African Americans of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and due process under the 5th Amendment. What did the Court decide? Supreme Court decided that Brown had won. They said that no one should be deprived the right of education. The African Americans were deprived of equal protection under the 14th Amendment and due process under the 5th Amendment. The Brown decision declared the system of legal segregation unconstitutional. What was the Court's statement about the enforcement of the decision? What happened to the enforcement? The Court ordered that they end segregation with all deliberate speed. Meaning they could take as much time as they wanted. Large numbers of white people considered this decision an assault on their way of life. Segregationists launched a militant campaign of defiance and resistance.
 * THE COURT DECISION** **(in your own words) (check** [|**Link 1**] **and Link 2)**
 * ENFORCING THE DECISION** **(discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check [|Link 1] )**

**THE IMPACT and LEGACY** **(Check** [|**Link 1**] **)** What is the overall importance and legacy of //Brown v. Board// ? The importance of this cas is that it really was the first major stepping stone in civil rights and showed that the government was not against blacks. Many African Americans enforced this decision. African American freedom struggle soon spread across the country. The original battle for school desegregation became part of broader campaigns for social justice. Fifty years after the //Brown// decision, the movement has come to include racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, and other groups, each demanding equal opportunity. The African Americans, finally, got their freedom whether the white people