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Separate but Equal?

Separate but Equal?. How the Supreme Court Shaped M odern E ducation. Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896. In 1890, Louisiana passed the first Jim Crow law which required separate accommodations for Whites and Blacks. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that “Separate but Equal” was constitutional

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Separate but Equal?

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  1. Separate but Equal? How the Supreme Court Shaped Modern Education

  2. Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896 • In 1890, Louisiana passed the first Jim Crow law which required separate accommodations for Whites and Blacks. • In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that “Separate but Equal” was constitutional • First use of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause • The 14th Amendment prohibits any state from denying “to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” • Allowed laws to be designed to racially segregate African-Americans and Whites through “separate but equal” public facilities

  3. Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education, 1954 • In the early 1950s, NAACP lawyers brought class-action lawsuits on behalf of children in Kansas, Virginia, South Carolina, and Delaware with the goal of letting black students attend white public schools. • Oliver Brown, a parent in Kansas, claimed that Topeka’s racial segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution • The Federal Court dismissed him, so he took his case to the Supreme Court. • Supreme Court ruled unanimously that state laws mandating public school segregation was unconstitutional according to the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause • This overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

  4. Integration in Arkansas • The very next day, Arkansas Governor Francis Cherry announced that the state would comply with the requirements. • On July 27, 1954, the Charleston school board quietly voted to integrate. • School boards in Fayetteville ( May 17, 1954) and Sheridan (May 21, 1954) announced that they would desegregate in the fall. • Sheridan board withdrew its decision amidst public outcry the following day. • In July 1955, Hoxie’s school board voted unanimously to integrate. • School started peacefully, but when attention was brought to the town as a result of its appearance in Life magazine, segregationists took the district to court.

  5. Hoxie Board of Education vs. Brewer, 1956 • Although Hoxie School District had already integrated, this case was brought forward a year later. • The school board alleged everything had been fine until the segregationists began to challenge the school board’s actions. Their efforts to thwart integration by threatening picket lines and boycotts led to the court issuing a temporary restraining order against the segregationists. • When the segregationists appealed the decision to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court determined that Hoxie’s separate facilities were not equal in stature. • Court ruled that Separate but Equal was inherently unconstitutional according to the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

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