Brown Vs. Board of Education

After all arguments were put forward and evaluated, the court systems came to solid rulings about how segregation should and would continue in the country. The District Court case in 1951, resulted in a decision which was in favor of the Board of Education of Topeka. They did feel that the segregation in schools did indeed have a negative effect on the Negro children. They thought however that one would be unable to prove that the facilities of the black schools were not up to the standards of those in the white schools. Therefore, they could not blame the Board of Education of breaking any aspects of the separate but equal policy. The Supreme Court case consisted of four segregation cases, all coming form different states. Those being Brown (Kansas), Briggs (South Carolina), Davis (Virginia), and Gebhart (Delaware). On December 9, 1952, oral arguments were presented in front of the court by those involved. On December 8, 1953, the case was reargued and the final decision was presented on May 17, 1954. A unanimous decision presented by the court, concluded that “separate but equal”, had no place whatsoever in the ideal America that we were all striving for. They concluded that if something were to be separated from another thing, than a common sense would find that it is inherently unequal. “We have now announced that such segregation is a denial of the equal protection of the laws” (Warren, Supreme Court Document).

The decision made by the court had some immediate effects on society and would forever change life as it was in America. The initial results that took place in the south, were viewed by many as negative and slightly crippled the desegregation movement altogether. Shortly after the case The Mankind Quarterly, a journal that is currently by The Council for Social and Economic Studies, was founded in response. Some feel that it was founded by men who believe strongly in the superiority of whites, and are often found to be political and extremely biased. Not only did this occur, but it was found that the amount of white private schools in the South increased dramatically over the years proceeding the court’s ruling. Eventually the society was forced to change, and abide by the rules and regulations that were set up in order to create a much more equalized state of community. Between 1954 and 1963, the Supreme Court banned several other laws that required the segregation of several other public areas. These included public bussing, golf courses, beaches, public parks, and restaurants. In 1963 the court declared that it “is no longer open to question that a sate may not constitutionally require segregation of public places”(Supreme Court).

In order to end at the final result he wanted, Oliver Brown had to go through a great deal of difficulty that tested his determination to change his life. In the late 1800’s, the Plessy vs. Ferguson case put the black community in a situation that some felt was almost impossible to get out of. When this issue was being resolved, they were discouraged by the decision of the District court and those looking at the predicament felt that all was lost for the side against segregation. In the end the results of the Brown vs. Board of Education case, showed that it was a landmark victory in the total desegregation of our America.