Supreme Court Case Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Essay Example

The Supreme Court Case, Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, main focus was in regard to the question of whether segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection of the 14^th Amendment. The case resulted in the Supreme Court in favor that the segregation did in fact violate the 14^th amendment. In their decision, they indicated that segregation had a detrimental effect on minority children and that the phrase, “separate but equal” was wrong. Chief Justice Earl Warren stated, “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of “separate but equal” had no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” (American Bar Association, 3). The outcome of this case therefore started much controversy and changed the education system. The only problem that occurred from this ruling was that the decision made in 1954 did not indicate how the desegregation of schools would be attained. One year later, in 1955, the case was reargued. Ten years later in 1964, only around 2 percent of the segregated school districts actually were desegregated. (American Bar Association, 4).

The Supreme Court ruling had molded the education system that we see today. For instance, in the Southern States of the US, there was complete educational segregation during the 1970s and 1980s; however, today it is one of the most integrated systems in the United States. (Balkan, 6) There are no exclusions to race for any school in regard to the law; however, racial segregation is still prominent in areas of high poverty. There was still a monumental importance to the outcome of this case. The Brown decision paved the way for Americans to progress in their relations with other races. Robert Wiesbrot wrote, “It provided a yardstick of color-blind justice against which Americans could measure their progress toward the ideal of equal opportunity” (Pitts, 43)

Works Cited

American Bar Association. “Dialogue on Brown vs. the Board of Education”. 2003.

<http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/…/brown/brownvboard.pdf>

Balkan, J. “Part One (excerpts) Brown v. Board of Education:

A Critical Introduction”. Reprinted from Jack M. Balkin, ed. What Brown v. Board of Education Should Have Said. (NYU Press, 2001). <www.yale.edu/…/brown/whatbrownvboardshouldhavesaidexcerpts.>

Pitts, D. “Brown v. Board of Education The Supreme Court Decision that Changed a Nation”.

September 1999. Issues of Democracy, USIA Electronic Journals,Vol. 4(2):46pgs. <http:// usinfo.org/enus/education/overview/docs/brownvsboard.pdf.>