Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

By Nicole Tursellino

Overview

When Linda Brown and other African American classmates were denied entry into a public school due to their race, Brown’s father and other children’s parents whose children had been subjected to the same discriminatory actions filed a lawsuit against the Topeka Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas. The case raised the question of whether or not segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which stated that similarly situated individuals must be treated in the same way as required by law. In this monumental Supreme Court case, the Court ruled in a unanimous decision delivered under Justice Earl Warren that separating children by means of race in public schools was deemed unconstitutional. This legally ended segregation in public institutions. 

Summary

In 1896, the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) permitted the segregation of African American individuals from white individuals in public settings, allowing for the establishment of the “separate but equal” doctrine; this meant that as long as Black facilities were inherently equal to white facilities, then they could be separated. However, movements by the NAACP began to challenge this concept during the 20th century. Linda Brown was a young African American girl who had to travel a long distance to attend her public African American school, even though the public white institution was relatively much closer to where she lived. Brown’s father, backed by other parents whose children had faced the same difficulties, filed a lawsuit against the Topeka Kansas’ Board of Education, stating that due to the segregation of the public institutions, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution had been violated. 

The case moved through the United States District Court of Kansas, where the Court utilized the precedent set in Plessy to state that the schools were inherently equal in nature based on the resources in which it provided to its students, and thus, ruled against Brown and his supporters. After hearing about this decision that was reached, the NAACP decided to step in and appeal the Court’s decision. When the case reached the Supreme Court’s docket, the Court found that there were four similar cases from other states around the country that were also waiting to be decided on that upheld arguments of a similar nature. With this, the Court decided to rule on all of the cases under the title of Brown v. Board of Education. 

When ruling on the case, the Supreme Court felt that it was of utmost necessity to reach a unanimous decision when ruling as a way of symbolizing to the United States how important of an issue this decision was. Under Chief Justice Earl Warren and about a year after the case had reached the Court’s docket, the Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that the concept of “separate of equal” was flawed, as segregation essentially emphasized the belittling of African American children in public school settings. This could, in turn, impact their growth and conceptions of themselves as individuals in the future. Furthermore, the Court found that the foundations behind the concept of “separate but equal” violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Impact

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) impacted many aspects of the education system, as well as many aspects of everyday life. With segregation being eliminated in public schools, it was the beginning of the end to segregation between whites and African Americans in everyday society. However, the decision reached in Brown did not only impact these communities, but also impacted individuals who had been otherwise restricted from access to equal education due to other factors, such as individuals with disabilities. People saw this decision as the beginning of a shift in the education system to one that was more inclusive in nature. Brown sparked a movement throughout the United States for members of all marginalized groups to begin to begin to fight for the legalization of policies that would ensure their equal rights in education; these individuals were able to use the decision in Brown as precedent for their causes. 

This landmark decision allowed for individuals to fight for equal rights in education for individuals with disabilities using Brown as precedent. It laid the foundational groundwork for movements that sought to reshape and grow legal efforts that ensured the equality of handicapped peoples. Some major milestones to note that were directly influenced by the overturning of the idea of  “separate but equal” was the passing of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975. This act, now referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is a federal law that essentially guarantees equal access to education and educational resources and opportunities for all individuals that possess a disability. With the passing of this Act, individuals with disabilities now receive individual education plans (IEP) specifically catered to them by their public educational institutions to allow for them to grow and prosper as students to the best of their ability. Other related laws, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prevents the discrimination of individuals due to a disability, also were formed in response to this shift towards making the United States more inclusive for all. 

Additional Documents

To read the Opinions and Dissents, click here: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/347/483/#tab-opinion-1940809

To read the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, click here: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/#:~:text=No%20State%20shall%20make%20or,equal%20protection%20of%20the%20laws.

To learn more about Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), click here:

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/plessy-v-ferguson

To learn more about Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, click here: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf

To learn more about the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, click here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/house-bill/7217#:~:text=Education%20for%20All%20Handicapped%20Children,system%20and%20will%20not%20go

To learn more about Individual Education Plans (IEPs), click here: 

https://www.understood.org/en/articles/what-is-an-iep

Citations

Belsky, Gail. “What Is an IEP?” Www.understood.org, 2022, www.understood.org/en/articles/what-is-an-iep.

Brademas, John. “H.R.7217 - 94th Congress (1975-1976): Education for All Handicapped Children Act.” Www.congress.gov, 29 July 1975, www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/house-bill/7217.

“Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).” Justia Law, 2019, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/347/483/#tab-opinion-1940809.

Constitution Annotated. “Fourteenth Amendment .” Constitution.congress.gov, Library of Congress, 2023, constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/.

National Archives. “Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).” National Archives, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 14 Sept. 2021, www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/plessy-v-ferguson.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Your Rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act: What Is Section 504? June 2006, www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf.