Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka

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Case Name: Equal Protection BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA Supreme Court of the United States, 1954 347 U.S. 483, 74 S Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873 Facts: Minors of the Negro race, through their legal representatives, seek the aid of the courts in obtaining admission to the public schools of their community on a non segregated basis. In each instance, they have been denied admission to schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race. Procedural History: The plaintiffs of the State of Kansas, South Carolina, and Virginia cases were denied relief by a three-judge federal district court on the grounds "separate but equal" doctrine announced by this Court in Plessy v. Fergusson. Under that doctrine, equality of treatment is accorded when the races are provided substantially equal facilities, even though these facilities be separate. In the Delaware case, the Supreme Court of Delaware adhered to that doctrine, but ordered that the plaintiffs be admitted to the white schools because of their superiority to the Negro schools. The plaintiffs contend that segregated public schools are not "equal" and cannot be made "equal" and that hence they are deprived of the equal protection of the laws. Issues: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? Holdings (and Judgment): Yes. The segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, does deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities. The Court concluded that with regards to public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no
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