#803 Brown v. Board of Education

Source: Gina Yang via KCUR.
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Today, we will build from last class’ discussion of the NAACP’s legal challenging of segregation, and our initial exploration of the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Goals.

• To understand:
  • key arguments related to (a) "separate but equal," (b) originalist and evolving interpretations of the Constitution, and (c) the importance of education to individuals and society in the context of civil rights.
  • looking beyond the text itself, how the case did—and did not--impact the lived experience of black Americans.
    
    

Context:

• The plaintiff, Oliver L. Brown, was an African American man living in Topeka, Kansas. A welder and assistant pastor at his local church, Brown’s daughter Linda who attended Topeka public schools. Linda, a third grader, had to walk six blocks to her school bus stop to ride to Monroe Elementary, her segregated black school one mile away, while Sumner Elementary, a white school, was seven blocks from her house. Her walk to the bus stop also took her across dangerous railroad tracks.
• The case that came to be known as Brown v. Board of Education was actually the name given to five separate cases that were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the issue of segregation in public schools.
• Expecting opposition to its ruling, especially in the southern states, the Supreme Court did not immediately try to give direction for the implementation of its ruling. Rather, it asked the attorney generals of all states with laws permitting segregation in their public schools to submit plans for how to proceed with desegregation

Legal document analysis: Brown v. Board of Education

​We will divide into three small groups to examine the primary text you read last night for homework:

1. What is the opinion of the Court on the “separate but equal” doctrine? What evidence does Justice Warren use to support the stance of the majority? Why might this view have been controversial at the time?
2. How do the justices act as historians? To what extent do they value the original intent of those who wrote the Constitution (and other amendments, particularly the fourteenth)? To what extent do they take into consideration the evolving context of American civic institutions and society? Do you agree with the balance they strike? Why or why not?
3. What does Justice Warren argue about the value of education (versus, say, transportation) for individuals and society? Do you agree with his argument? Why or why not?

Anticipate (entire class discussion):

• By what process do Supreme Court opinions become lived practice for ordinary Americans?
• Why might a decision related to public education in local communities be especially difficult to enforce?
• What do you think will happen as a result of this decision?

Impact:

• Begin watching clip from Eyes on the Prize Part 2: Fighting Back (1:20-20:50). Note: we may have to complete our viewing next class.