How Did Oliver Brown V. Board Of Education Influence The Civil Rights Movement

Throughout American history, few groups if any have experienced the social and economic inequality African Americans have experienced. Since the 1890’s, they’ve accomplished a lot like gaining the right to vote, getting segregation abolished, etc. Many of these changes were spurred on by activists of the Civil Rights Movement. These activists were people like Oliver Brown who is the reason Brown v. Board of Education occurred, college students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University who started the Greensboro sit-in, and everyone who participated in the peaceful protest in Selma, Alabama. In each case, activists made a positive impact; Oliver Brown’s case made people see that segregated schools are unjust, the students

Oliver Brown’s specific case concerned his young daughter who wasn’t allowed to attend the school near her home, and was forced to make a rather dangerous trip to school everyday. After Brown brought this information forward, chief justice Earl Warren ruled that segregated schools were unequal. This decision that affected every black family in America wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Brown and others like him who were brave enough to speak out and share the injustices they and so many others faced. Oliver Brown wanted the best for his daughter, so he went to court and fought for her. In doing so, he fought for every other black child in America. That is really why Brown v. Board of Education was so important; it was about the children and their future. If children were able to grow up attending school with others who don’t necessarily look like them, they were more likely not to have a harmful bias about someone when they entered into adulthood. Changing people’s opinions when they’re adults is difficult because they’ve had decades to form them, that’s why it’s important for children to be brought up knowing everyone is equal regardless of color. Abolishing segregation in schools showed children that their skin color didn’t define their worth, and gave them the opportunity to attend schools that were well funded

Board of Education, four college students started a protest that would come to be called the Greensboro sit-in. The students were sitting at the lunch counter of a Woolworth’s when they were told they couldn’t be waited on because of the color of their skin. Frustrated, returned everyday and sat at the lunch counter. They did this for five months until Woolworth’s finally agreed to serve black people. To some, what these students accomplished might not seem like much, but, in reality, these students accomplished more than getting a department store to serve them. During the five months that they protested, their numbers kept growing; more and more students including some white were motivated to take a stand, and joined the sit-in. Others got word of what these students were doing, and soon there were sit-ins all around the country. All of it started with four, black, college students. While what these students did was incredible, what really makes them stand out is how they didn’t let their age affect the change they knew they could make. Nobody knew who these students were; they weren’t renowned civil rights leaders who everyone looked up to. Their actions were simple, but the results were profound.They wanted to see change, so they went out and made it. In doing so, they became an example to young people that age and experience don’t determine what kind of influence you have. All you need is the will to make change, and the perseverance to see it