Brown v. Board of Education essays

Brown v. Board of Education essays Until the mid-1950s, less than a century ago, African-American children from certain states were forced to attend different schools from their white counterparts. Segregation pervaded almost every aspect of society, however: blacks used separate washrooms, drinking fountains, and eating facilities. In the early 1950s, the NAACP helped to bring several cases before the Supreme Court to prove that school segregation in particular was harmful to black children and was a direct violation of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. Although judges in Kansas ruled in favor of the Board of Education initially, the Supreme Court eventually overturned the "separate but equal" laws in the landmark decision known as Brown versus Board of Education. If I had been on the panel of Supreme Court judges in the mid-1950s, when that case was decided, I would have ruled similarly but with further demands to quickly and universally end segregation in all aspects of society. Although the case focused exclusively on the American public school system, I would have issued a statement alongside my decision that would have encouraged the NAACP and any other civil rights organization to pursue more cases regarding segregation. The Brown versus Board of Education decision is a great start, as it sets the pace of society through its children. Exposing African-American children to gross inequality at early ages prepares them to feel like inferior members of society. This in turn promotes racism and creates a culture based on the unequal treatment of people of color. The public schools that black children attended were poorly funded and staffed in relation to white schools. Unfortunately, that situation still exists today in the 21st century, decades after the Brown versus Board of Education was decided, but this is an issue that cannot be solved in the courtroom but rather with a total re...