Many Southern states were segregated, they followed the supreme courts decision in 1896; 'Separate but equal' this meant that they were still segregated but blacks had equal rights. Segregation was the separation of white people from black, some states tried to keep control over black people's segregation by; 'Jim crow' laws which kept black people segregated/separated from white, this involved separate schools, toilets and drinking fountains. Desegregation had become a problem in the 1950's, largely because of the racial hatred of white southerners towards blacks, this racial hatred had originated from the attitudes of white people towards black people after slavery was abolished in 1864, many southern states had 'Jim crow' laws which discriminated against African Americans. However, in 1954 the Brown family challenged these laws by suing the city school board for forbidding their 8 year old daughter, who was black, from attending the white school which was nearby, instead Linda Brown was forced to attend the segregated school which was a long distance away. The Brown family's case was brought to the Supreme Court by the NAACP; they were an organisation which fought for the rights of coloured people.
The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." It is a victory for NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, who will later return to the Supreme Court as the nation's first black justice. In 1957, King established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) with fellow activists C.K. Steele, Fred Shuttleworth and T.J. Jemison. In Birmingham, Alabama, desegregation was being violently resisted by the white population.
These laws denied black Americans the equal rights of white citizens which re-imposed white supremacy and meant they remained as second-class citizens. It wasn’t only the Jim Crow laws but under the Fifteenth Amendment, black people had the legal right to vote throughout America. Nonetheless, the southern states found devious ways to disenfranchise the local black population. For example, some states introduced a grandfather clause, which meant that people could only vote if their grandfathers had been able to vote. Other states introduced literacy tests as criteria for voting.
Even when this was challenged in the Plessy vs Ferguson Supreme Court case the separate but equal principle was found to be constitutional. Similarly the principle of separate but equal in education was also found to be constitutional in the Cummings vs Board of education Supreme Court case. According to the 15th amendment, all African Americans should have been able to vote. However due to high levels of illiteracy and poverty among African Americans this was not possible because of literacy tests and poll taxes, which excluded both African Americans and white people who were poor and illiterate. These voting restrictions were challenged in the Mississippi vs Williams Supreme Court case but it was maintained that the restrictions did not go against the 15th amendment and so they continued.
In short, the Court was asked to determine whether the segregation of schools was at all constitutional. In this case discrimination was the main factor in which affected the rights of African American’s to have more freedom. The Supreme Court's opinion in the brown case of 1954 legally ended decades of racial segregation in America's public schools. Originally named
The Supreme Court argued that the segregation of education had a negative effect on those who were black as it made them feel less worthy and could influence low self-esteem among those who were black. The Supreme Court realised other important things such as the fact that America was changing as were the attitudes of some Americans as there was a growth in black middle class, they also realised that for over 60 years the Southern States had failed to provide education that was actually equal, they became aware that the education that they were providing for blacks did not meet the ideals that they were fighting for in the Cold War and lastly the verdict of the supreme court was reached because of a change of leadership in the Supreme Court, the new leader Earl Warren was much more sympathetic towards civil rights than the
However, many southern states found ways around the laws to disenfranchise the black populations. They did this by introducing a ‘Grandfather Clause’, which is that only people whose grandfather voted, gave them the ability to vote. Also literacy test was another method used, which in most ways wasn’t made fairly and even well educated people were disenfranchised and not allowed to vote. However, in 1946 President Truman established The President’s Committee on ‘Civil rights’, producing a report examining the experiences of racial minorities in America. The report was called ‘To Secure These Rights’, this report highlighted the problems facing African Americans and proposed radical changes to make American society better.
After the civil rights era’s and all of the bills and supreme court rulings like the transportation equality act, prohibited discrimination In public accommodations, educations and employment, Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and the American Indian Movement just to name a few. These acts were implemented to remove oppression but actually today in 2014 Oppression is still happening especially on blacks and Hispanics. The oppression happens as a bi product from white privilege. People are oppressed because African Americans and Hispanics cannot do certain things that white Americans can do. This can be linked to negative stereotypes about these races.
Also by abolish affirmative action will help the whites gain control and have the economy be pushed towards slavery when people of color were servants again. Roger Clegg however thinks NO and opposes the argument that affirmative action gives people of color ,who are underrepresented are “targets of community” colleges that plan to hire or accept is based off of diversity. “Once applications have been received, some colleges deliberately
Spartacus.com states, “The 1964 Civil Rights Act made racial discrimination in public places, such as theaters, restaurants and hotels, illegal. It also required employers to provide equal employment opportunities. Projects involving federal funds could now be cut off if there was evidence of discriminated based on [color], race or national origin.” But the states like Mississippi ignored