Developments in Education - Brown vs Topeka, 1952 (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note

Timeline

Summary

The policy of segregation in education had been established in law in the US since the Plessy v. Ferguson court case in 1896. This was overturned in 1954 by the Brown v. Topeka case. The Supreme Court ruled that segregation broke the constitutional law. In the short term, segregation continued as many people in the South reacted angrily to the judgement. In the long term, it helped civil rights campaigners in their struggle to end segregation in other areas of life.

The impacts of Plessy vs Ferguson on education

•  The Plessy v. Ferguson court case of 1896 was significant because the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled that racial segregation did not break the Constitution

• It ruled that the facilities available to both groups had to be ‘separate but equal’

  • This affected education as Black children went to separate schools from White children

  • The schools that Black children attended had less funding and poorer facilities than those attended by white children 

Who was Linda Brown?

• Linda Brown was a Black student from Kansas who had to walk past a school for White students before she reached her nearest ‘Blacks only’ school

  • She believed this was unfair

  • With the support of the NAACP, she took the local Topeka Board of Education to court

Brown vs Topeka, 1954

• The case, Brown v. Topeka, went to the Supreme Court

• Brown’s lawyers argued that segregated education led to poorer results, mental stress and lower self-esteem for Black students

  •  The lawyers stated that, as a result, segregation went against the 14^th Amendment of the Constitution; ‘all citizens must receive equal protection’

• In December 1952, the Supreme Court voted to hear more legal advice on the case

  • They avoided making a ruling

  • The original judge trying the case died

    • His replacement was Earl Warren. He disagreed with segregation

  • On 17 May 1954, the Supreme Court announced that it agreed with their arguments

Amended extract from the closing judgement of the Supreme Court

Short-term impact of Brown vs Topeka

•  Brown v. Topeka overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, meaning that segregation had been legally judged as breaking the United States Constitution

  •  However, it did not give a deadline for schools to desegregate but stated it should happen ‘at the earliest possible speed’

  •  As a result, three years after the Supreme Court judgement, although 723 school districts had desegregated, 2.4 million Black children were still being taught in ‘Blacks only’ schools

• Victory in the Brown v. Topeka case also led to:

  • A backlash of intimidation against civil rights campaigners

  • NAACP membership declined by 40% by 1957

  • The Ku Klux Klan experienced an increase in popularity

  • White Citizens Councils (WCC) were established to prevent schools from desegregating

• The Supreme Court’s decision was too late for Linda Brown. She went to a junior high school. Junior high schools were already desegregated in Kansas

Long-term impact of Brown vs Topeka

• Victory in Brown v. Topeka had set a legal precedent, which meant other state segregation laws could be challenged in the courts

  •  Segregation in education had been judged to break Constitution Law.

  • Therefore, segregation in transport, restaurants, cinemas etc must also break the Constitution

• Black students and teachers faced racism and violent attacks in integrated schools

• Well-run Black-only schools were shut down

  • Students had to move to other schools and teachers lost their jobs

• It also led to many White Americans moving away from areas where Black Americans lived

  • This meant there was continued segregation on an unofficial basis