1) Brown v. Board of Education: In 1951, Topeka, Kansas, Linda had to walk 20 blocks to Munro school even though there was another elementary school just seven blocks away from her house. Linda's parents and several others tried enrolling their kids in the much closer Sumner elementary. They weren’t allowed to go there because Sumner was a school for whites and Monroe was a school for black kids. Linda was a child during the reign of Jim Crow laws and separate-but-equal. Unfortunately, these two schools were separate, but definitely not equal.
WaiTo Wong Polsc 1 Prof. Uranga 8/7/2014 Was Brown v Board decided correctly? Back in 1950s', African American children were rejected admission to normal public schools which are attended by white children, under laws requiring or allowing segregation towards to the races. Linda Brown who is the main character in this event, she was born in Topeka, Kansas. Despite the fact she grew up in a ethnically diverse neighborhood, she was still forced to go to a school which need an hour time to reach instead of going to a school which was four blocks away from her house. Back at that time Topeka's schools are being segregated by races.
Before the decision is discussed, the background for the case must be explained. “In the 1950’s, Linda Brown was a young African American girl in Kansas who had to walk through a railroad switchyard to get to school. There was a school much closer to her house, but she could not go there because it was an all white school. (Background Summary)” This was a very effective motivator for Mr. Brown, as he felt that his child was being discriminated against and put in danger because she was forced to go to a specific school.
The Board of Education wanted segregated elementary schools. Other schools were non segregated. The appellants felt that the Board violated the rights given by the Constitution. They sued the board saying that the system didn’t give Linda Brown the equal protection of the rights given by the fourteenth amendment. The decision was unanimous in favor of Brown.
They wanted their kids to be able to attend any public school regardless of race and their color of skin. This case took place in Topeka, Kansas in the 1950’s, where a group of furious parents ordered that public schools should let their children in regardless of their race. They also argued that their kids should not have to walk a far distance in order for them to attend an all-black school. The three district court panel found that the segregation in public
Topeka had two elementary schools one for white kids one for African American kids. All of the said kids had to walk 6-10 blocks to get to a bus stop where they would ride to their school. The white school they were denied enrollment to would only be 5-7 blocks away with no bus ride included. The district court ruled in favor of the board of education citing what the Supreme Court had previously decided in Plessy vs. Ferguson.
Her family believed they had a case with the school system and took it to court. They claimed that the school system was violating the 14th amendment. The court decided that the schools were segregated but each building were alike and decided segregation was legal. The Browns appealed their case and took it to the U.S. Supreme Court. They went into court stating that “even though facilities were similar, segregated schools could never be equal to one another” said the Browns.
Linda lived within walking distance to a school, but because of segregation laws, the little girl had to be bussed to a school further away. In anguish, Linda`s father decided to sue the school board, in which the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court, and after two years, the court ruled for desegregation in public schools (“Vox”). However, this court ruling took many years to enforce because of white violence, particularly in the South. Many blacks envisioned the court ruling in anticipation; ameliorating the vigor for the rest of the Civil Rights Movement. Within the following year, peaceful protests began for equality among blacks and whites.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education paved the way for a new level of opportunity for others that followed by making segregation in schools illegal, providing better conditions in the classroom, and providing African American students with more opportunities for the future. In the summer of 1950, 13 African Americans parents tried to enroll their children in an all-white school for the upcoming year. They were of course denied, being that at the time schools were segregated. One particular child really stood out in this case, his name was Linda Brown. Brown had to travel a large distance to attend Monroe Elementary--one of the four black elementaries in the town.
Melba Beals was one of the first nine black students to attend a white school. White people, angry segregationist mobs, and even the Arkansas governor tried to keep her and the other students from going to a white school. They expressed their resentment by being very rude and trying to block them from going in. But she didn’t yell back or get angry because she knew that it wouldn’t help her case of going to school. Beals says, “Some of the white people looked totally horrified, while others raised their fists to us.”
In Brown V. Board of Education the Supreme Court correctly ruled that having separate facilities for blacks and whites because of race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, especially since the facilities for blacks were not of as good of quality and were not equal to the facilities for whites. In this case, Oliver Brown’s daughter, Linda Brown, was denied entrance to a white public school because of her race, but she was not the only one going through this problem. At this time, everything was segregated by race.
Board of Education case, there were separate white and black schools. White schools are profusely safer and nicer than black schools. Black schools did not have as much funding or as great of an education. One family wanted their child to attend a white school due to it being closer to their house, but they were not allowed to. They brought the problem to the court and argued that it was a violation of the 14th Amendment, which said that “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property.”
(“History - Brown v. Board of Education Re-Enactment”) After the case went to court, that school did not have a big of a problem that it had before with racism. For the most part the issue was covered in that area. Overall this case was a life changing experience for the world because one finally stood up for what they believed in and what is right. In this issue all of the kids were judged before anyone got to know
This is because both schools were very similar with buildings, transportation, education, etc. (Landmark). After this, the family decided to appeal this case to the Supreme Court because they felt that even though there were not many differences between both schools, they would never be equal. An argument included that the denial of black students into white schools made them feel inferior to white children (Geer 157). After listening to their arguments, the Supreme Court unanimously decided in a 9-0 vote count that the state laws which require separate but equal facilities were indeed violating the citizens’ rights.
A Dark World Ahead of Us The further development of technology together with media has led to a society getting closer and closer to that of the world portrayed in George Orwell’s 1984. A world in which everything people do is monitored and controlled is something of a nightmare; but just how similar may our two nations be? Many would think that it would be inscrutable for a society to fall so low as to succumb to complete and utter brainwashing. 1984’s Ministry of Truth is similar to the media manipulation within the United States of America because they are both influenced by those holding power, have bias views towards those they dislike, and are able to control the opinions and information given to society.
