They protested, marched, wrote letters to Congress, wrote letters to the President, etc. On May 17, 1954, The US Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This decision declared that separate but equal educational facilities were unconstitutional. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015) A form of legislation to alleviate race within prejudicial boundaries was the Voting Rights Act of 1965; this law prohibits racial discrimination in voting. This year commemorates 50 years since the infamous march in Selma, Alabama.
Therefore, Linda's father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in the white elementary school, but the principal of the school denied the request. Outraged, Brown went to McKinley Burnett, the head of Topeka's branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and asked for help. The NAACP was eager to assist the Browns, as it had long wanted to challenge segregation in public schools. With some other black parents joining Brown, in 1951, the NAACP requested a ruling that would forbid the segregation of Topeka's public schools. The Case At the trial, the NAACP’s main argument was that segregated schools sent the message to black children that they were inferior to whites;
Plessy v Ferguson was the landmark case decision on May 18, 1896 in which it was upheld by Supreme Court ruling to reinforce the Louisiana law that enforced the segregation of railroad facilities. It was determined that segregation was not considered a form of discrimination so long as the races were ‘equally’ accommodated. This became also known as the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine because it was well known that the conditions were certainly not equal. The overall outcome of this case set the equal rights movement back 100 years until Brown v Board of Education of Topeka overthrew this doctrine in 1954. This ruling was forever change the future of the school system for native born Black Americans and immigrants alike.
This decision was a life changing experience for equality and is still continuing to this day. According to the fourteenth amendment , Segregation of white and black children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of race, pursuant to state laws permitting or requiring such segregation, denies to Negro children the equal protection of the laws Amendment . (http://www.nationalcenter.org/brown) Brown 3 The Supreme Court case Brown versus the Board of Education aimed to end unconstitutional discrimination against black people in the United States. (McDonald, 2009) . During the trial, psychologist Kenneth B. Clark argued that the segregation of black children faced many self esteem issues and hindered there ability to learn due to the racial issues that they were faced with.
While during that same time Martin Luther King, Jr., who was also a black civil right activist in America, taught to fight racism with love. Malcolm spoke publicly of his lack of respect for Martin Luther King, who would, through a white man’s religion (Christianity), tell blacks not to fight back. In 1962 Malcolm was designated by Elijah Muhammad as the official public representative of Nation of Islam. By 1963, New York Times poll found that Malcolm X was, after conservative Senator Barry Goldwater, the most sought after speaker by student groups on college campuses. His attraction seemed to rest not only in his ability to attack the system of white supremacy in forceful language but also in his wit.
The MIA(Montgomery Improvement Association) was formed with Martin Luther King as president. Leaflets were passed around the black community urging them to stop using the bus services. The effect was immense, with countless buses in Montgomery empty. An MIA meeting of 7000 was held in Holt Street Baptist Church, where it was decided that the boycott would continue. At that meeting Martin Luther King gave an inspiring speech that spread the boycott further among blacks.
The laws introduced the "separate but equal" philosophy of the south - but with the backing of the highest legal body in America. (2) Brown V. the Board of Education (1954): In 1954 the Supreme Court made one of the most important decisions in its long history. It decided in the case of Brown v. Board Of Education of Topeka that it was unconstitutional for states to maintain separate schools for African American and white children. This case over turned the "Separate but equal" doctrine established in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson back in
The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation, seeing that it is applied to public education. Handed down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court’s unified decision stated that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” As a result, the jure racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This ruling created a way for union and was a large victory of the civil rights movement. List two current court cases relating to this amendment. Do a web search for current court cases.
This issue exposed deep hatred some whites had against blacks, and how far they would go in support of their racist policy. As the New York Time’s article “Meredith Rebuffed Again,” by Claude Sitton reported, “There was every indication of widespread popular support throughout Mississippi for Governor Barnett, who has pledged to go to jail rather than permit desegregation of the university”(Sitton). When Meredith went to the university to register, large hostile crowds formed to show their support for the Governor and their
Martin Luther King, Jr. was jailed for leading the anti-segregation protest In Birmingham. While in jail, King wrote the infamous letter form Birmingham Jail titles, Why We Can’t Wait on April 16, 1963. The letter indicated that individuals have the moral obligation to disobey wrongful laws. It was so moving that the attorney general, Robert Kennedy, issued a statement about King providing a ripple of