Life Without Integrated Schools
Life Without Fair Courts Editorial Cartoon Series by Mikhaela Reid
Brown v. Board of Ed., 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
Plaintiffs: African American school-age children in several states
Defendants: Board of Educations in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia and Delaware
Issue: Do separate schools for white and black children violate the U.S. Constitution?
Case Summary:
In several states across the country, school districts were either permitted, or in some states, mandated to separate white and black students in different public schools based on race. People in four of the states brought lawsuits against the various state and local governments that maintained these systems. The cases were consolidated into one case, which made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The state government defendants argued that segregating students based on race was an acceptable practice, as long as each of the schools in the district provided comparable facilities, books and quality of education. The Court wholeheartedly disagreed and, in a momentous ruling, found that even if separate public schools could be equal in quality, reputation and facilities, "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Court reasoned that separating African American children "from others of similar age and qualifications because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone." Although this decision was limited to public schools, it was widely perceived as the precedent needed to abolish segregation laws in all public facilities.
