Brown vs. Board of Education Topeka, 1954

The background Reverend Oliver Brown had moved to the mainly White suburb of Topeka, Kansas He attempted to enrol his daughter, Linda, at the local white school – two blocks from their home The local School Board ordered 7-year-old Linda to attend a school for Blacks – 10 blocks away To get to school Linda had to cross dangerous railway tracks

The case Oliver Brown argued that this violated the 14th Amendment The case was taken up by the NAACP and taken to the Supreme Court The NAACP argued segregated education created low self-esteem among Black people and made them believe they were inferior …No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States …

... There was evidence to show that Black schools were inferior On 17 May 1954 the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren, announced its unanimous decision “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”

... Segregation in public schools was declared unconstitutional. It “generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way very unlikely ever to be undone” A year later, the Supreme Court in the second Brown case called for the desegregation of public schools with “all deliberate speed”

The NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Established in 1910 in New York after race riots in Springfield, Illinois – resulting in the lynching of 2 Blacks A group of young Black and white men and women pledged themselves to improve the status of the American Black

They brought attention to the violence carried out against Blacks They wanted to: Get justice in the courts Have “equal rights” laws included in Federal and State law Find decent employment for Blacks The NAACP aimed their campaign at the legal framework of the US. They set up a network of lawyers to help advise and council Black clients They brought attention to the violence carried out against Blacks Before the NAACP, Blacks had no real defence against violence and discrimination

Learning outcomes: by the end of the period you will be able to… Describe how desegregation was received in America – with particular reference to Little Rock

Desegregation of schools The process of desegregation was slow Public opinion in the South opposed it White Citizen Councils were set up to oppose desegregation, especially in schools. The Councils organised economic boycotts of Blacks and Whites who supported integration

... 101 Southern politicians signed the Southern Manifesto, they pledged “to use all lawful means to bring about a reversal of the decision”

Little Rock Nine Arkansas, 1957

Little Rock In September 1957 nine Black students attempted to enrol at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas – a school of academic prestige The Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, called out the Arkansas National Guard to stop the students

... President Eisenhower met with Faubus, but could not change his mind. The Supreme Court ordered that the students be allowed to enrol The National Guard was withdrawn and State police were called in to protect the students as they entered through the back door

... Angry Whites rioted The Black students were removed for their own safety Eisenhower intervened – he called in Federal Troops. They, and the National Guard, protected the Black students and accompanied them to class Faubus later closed all schools in Little Rock until 1959

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH-eC4LgZT4