In
the early 1950s the education system for blacks and whites was similar to when
a older sibling breaks a cookie in “half”, both the pieces are now separate,
but in no way are they equal (if you are a younger sibling you understand this
idea completely). School existed for the both races but was again not to equal
standards. In Topeka, Kansas, a little girl named Linda Brown went to school at
an elementary school that was over a mile away from her house. This wouldn’t be
a really issue if there wasn’t a closer school less then seven blocks away,
much closer for the little girl to go to. But, this was an all white school, so
Linda was not aloud to attend because of her race. The upset Brown family went
to McKinley Burnett, of the NAACP, who was more than eager to support little
Linda Brown in her move for the abolition of segregation in schools. One of the
main arguments by the plaintiff was that the segregation in the schools made
the black students believes that they were inferior to the white student, lending
that the segregation was separate but not equal. On the other side the defense
argued that these supposed “not equal” school were preparing the black students
for a segregated and unequal world. The education board also noted the many
successful black who came from segregated schools just like Linda’s. When an
injunction was requested, the Supreme Court was compelled to act as they
understood that segregated schools were hurting black progress in society. However
there was hesitation in ruling in favor of the browns due to the precedent of
Plessy vs. Ferguson. After much deliberation, the court finally ruled against Plessy
vs. Ferguson in the fact that the schools were inherently unequal, and thus
against the spirit and letter of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court
demolished “separate but equal” and decided that schools must integrate. This
however is easier said then done and it took a long time for other American facilities
to become integrated.
