Brown vs.

Board of Education: Schooling the Supreme Court

Before now, African Americans have been treated so poorly, especially when it came to

their education. However, thanks to the Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Board of Education, that

problem has begun to decline as the years have passed. Brown vs. Board of Education was made

up of five court cases from all over the United States, including Belton vs. Gebhart, Bolling vs.

Sharpe, Briggs vs. Elliot, Davis vs. County School Board, and of course Brown vs. Board of

Education between 1949 to 1952. All five of these cases had substantial ties to school

segregation. Which is why in 1952 all five court cases were put into one large court case called

Brown vs. Board of Education that was taken all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme

Court came to the decision that school segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the

14th Amendment and ultimately ended with the establishment of Brown II. Brown II was a way

to help the desegregation process, but since Brown II also said that desegregation could happen

at an "all deliberate speed", it made it very difficult to change all states when it came to school

segregation (National Archives). However, eventually, all schools throughout the United States

became desegregated. Which signaled a triumph in United States history, but, the tragedy that

resulted from this was that segregation and all these court cases had to happen first, in order for

the United States to be shaped the way it is today.

Brown vs. Board of Education has had a significant effect on the everyday lives on

almost all African Americans that have come through schools and colleges in the United States

since the 1950s. One example of this could be Ruby Bridges, one of the first African American

students to attend an all-white school, and the way her life turned out. This is true because “In
1960, because of her high test scores, she was selected to attend William Frantz Public School,

becoming one of the first black children to integrate New Orleans’ all-white public school

system… arriving for her first day of first grade, at age 6, Bridges was escorted by federal

marshals and greeted by an angry mob” (Grecourt Cafe). This quote means that although Ruby

was legally able to go to an all-white school, she still faced so many challenges that made it

harder and harder for her to continue to go every day. Another example of Brown vs. Board of

Education having an effect on the lives of African Americans throughout the United States

would be “State officials, initially refusing a U.S. Supreme Court order to integrate the school,

blocked Meredith’s entrance, but, following large campus riots that left two people dead,

Meredith was admitted to the university under the protection of federal marshal” (Encyclopedia

Britannica). This quote means, that although in the end, James Meredith was able to attend the

all-white college, he still suffered because he always had to deal with the federal marshal’s trying

to protect him. One more example of Brown vs. Board of Education having effects on the lives

of African Americans would be “Today’s solutions are much less focused on the social and

cultural benefits of integration. They are concentrated more on how to build the kinds of learning

opportunities necessary to close existing achievement gaps and ensure that all students have the

opportunity to become proficient, based on our national standards” (Wbur). This quote means

that since Brown vs. Board of Education has gone into effect, people today worry more about

how well their child is being educated rather than if their child has classes with children with

different skin colors. Overall, Brown vs. Board of Education has had a numerous amount of

effects on African Americans and their day to day lives.

Brown vs. Board of Education ultimately ended with a triumph, desegregation of schools,
but before any kind of triumph could take place, tragedy had to occur. The tragedy was the fact

that numerous amounts of court cases and legal actions had to be taken before the United States

even began to think about the desegregation of schools throughout the South. An example of this

kind of tragedy would be “Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawyers

agreed to represent Harry and Eliza Briggs and 19 other courageous parents from Clarendon

County in challenging poor conditions and limited opportunities in schools for local

African-American children” (Turning Point South Carolina). This quote means that parents of

African American children had to get together and stand up for their children’s education with

the help of Thurgood Marshall because they knew the way their children were being treated was

very unfair. Another example of a tragedy that took place before Brown vs. Board of Education

would be “Government officials went to great lengths to ensure that blacks and white would

have as little social interaction as possible” (The Tuskegee Airmen). This quote means not only

was African American children’s education being affected, so was every other African American

in the South, since the two races were always separated in pretty much everything they did. One

more example of tragedy before Brown vs. Board of Education happened would be “Gardner

Bishop and the Consolidated Parents Group, Inc. began a crusade to end segregated schooling in

Washington, D.C… Bishop attempted to get eleven young African American students admitted

to the newly completed John Philip Sousa Junior High School. They were turned away, although

the school had several empty classrooms” (National Park Service). This quote means that

African American children were solely being turned away from attending new all-white schools

due to their skin color since the new school had empty classrooms, yet for some reason, they

were still told they could not attend the nice, new school. In conclusion, African Americans had
to face many tragedies in order to put Brown vs. Board of Education together, much less actually

having the Supreme Court come to a fair and wanted decision.

Although, before Brown vs. Board of Education occurred, African Americans were faced

with many unwanted, unneeded, and very unfair tragedies, most importantly Brown vs. Board of

Education came to the decision that school segregation had violated the United States

Constitution and that it should be dealt with as soon as possible. An example of triumph that

came as a result of Brown vs. Board of Education would be Brown II. This is true because

“Chief Justice Warren conferred much responsibility on local school authorities and the courts

which originally heard school segregation cases… Warren urged localities to act on the new

principles promptly and to move toward full compliance with them "with all deliberate speed”

(Oyez). This quote means that the decision to establish Brown II as a result of Brown vs. Board

of Education caused schools to begin their desegregation process. Another example of triumph

occurring as a result of Brown vs. Board of Education would be the beginning of the Civil Rights

Movement, which eventually was what gave African Americans pretty much all the same rights

as white people. This is true because “The Civil Rights Movement that began in the late 1950s

won for African-Americans basic rights long denied to them, inspired other discriminated groups

to fight for their own rights, and had a deep effect on American society” (PBS). This quote

means that as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, all races were given the same rights, no

matter the color of their skin and that if the Civil Rights Movement would have never occurred,

there is a very high chance different races would still be separated in today’s time. One more

example of triumph that came as a result of Brown vs. Board of Education would be the Civil

Rights Act in 1964. This is true because “Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, establishing a
federal policy that prohibits racially segregated public accommodations and imposes penalties

for racial discrimination in the workplace” (Thought Co). This quote means that since many

people believe Brown vs Board of Education was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement,

that when the movement started to come to an end and there was an act written that basically said

that the United States should stay desegregated no matter what, that Brown vs. Board of

Education was what began the whole process in the first place. Overall, Brown vs. Board of

Education not only ended up being a significant triumph in United States history, but it also was

one of the main reasons the United States started to become one country, rather than being

divided between the North and South or African American and White.

In conclusion, after the emancipation proclamation ended slavery, the Jim Crow laws,

and segregation of schools did so little to improve the educational needs of African Americans in

the south. However, the historical impact of unequal segregation began to lead to the tragic yet

triumphal occurrence of Brown vs. Board of Education. Which all ultimately ended up leading

up to the desegregation of schools across all of the United States.