1. Brown vs. The Board of Education
English 12 African Heritage

2. Separate but Equal…(Plessy vs. Ferguson)

3. Supreme Court Cases Legal Precedent
Two FAMOUS American Supreme Court Cases – What are they?
This one – Brown vs. the Board of Education
Roe vs. Wade – (interesting 13th amendment connection)

4. Topeka Kansas - 1951 Linda Brown – grade 3
1 mile from school – crossed a railway to get to school
Could not attend her white neighborhood school
Brown, supported by the NAACP, began a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

5. The Arguments
Fourteenth Amendment ("no State shall... deny to any person... the equal protection of the laws.")
White lawyers argued that segregation in schools was a good thing, because it prepared children for segregation in life. Honest to god.

6. First Decision (1951)
The US District Court for the District of Kansas found in favor of the Board of Education
The judges noted that there was no legal precedent to strike down Plessy vs. Ferguson (“Separate but Equal”)
The NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court

7. SUPREME Court
Class action combined with school segregation challenges from South Carolina, Delaware and Virginia
Still named for Brown
The big question – were “equal” opportunities being limited by segregated schools?

8. May 17th, 1954 UNANIMOUS decision
“Separate but equal is inherently unequal”
Only applied to schools, but set a legal precedent
All Jim Crow/ Segregation laws challenged after that

9. Public Response

10. Public Response

11. Public Response

12. “2-4-6-8” “We don’t wanna integrate!” No one enrolled right away
Schools used public pressure, military, local police to stop integration
Threats of violence and lynching
Angry responses in the media

13. Using the Precedent… The Little Rock Nine Integration of colleges
Jim Crow challenges
Lunch counters
Water fountains
Hiring practices

14. Review Questions for Discussion
What right did the Fourteenth Amendment give citizens?
What problems did Linda Brown encounter in Topeka that eventually resulted in this case?
What precedent did the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) ruling establish? How was that precedent related to Brown?
This case is based on what the concept of "equality" means. What are the conflicting points of view on this concept in this case?

15. Read “Desegregation and the Future”
1956 speech by Martin Luther King Jr.
1.List at least three points he makes about the nature of segregation
2.What vision does he have of the future in light of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision?
3.How does he use rhetoric (ethos, pathos and logos) to persuade in his speech? Cite specific examples to support your ideas.