Brown vs Topeka Flashcards
How far was Linda Brown’s school from her house?
2 miles - for a nine year old this meant crossing train tracks and getting the bus alone.
What was the policy on segregated education in the Southern states?
Compulsory
When was it?
1954
Who was Thurgood Marshall and what did he argue?
A lawyer for the NAACP led the charge in arguing that segregation of schools violated the 14th Amendment. He argued that white school facilities were often of much higher quality.
Who was Linda Brown?
3rd grade African-American student from Topeka, Kansas. She was denied acceptance into white schools close to her home.
Did the schools in Topeka have the same facilities?
White schools and African-American schools had the same high-quality facilities and excellent teachers.
How long did it take for the Supreme Court to make its decision? Why?
The Supreme Court heard arguments on the case in 1953 but the justices were deeply divided. They decided to put the case on hold to allow for new arguments. When the case resumed in 1954, the court was still divided. Most justices believed that segregation was a violation of the 14th Amendment but some believed it was a federalism issue and decisions about how to end segregation should be left to the states.
Who was Earl Warren?
While the case was on hold, Chief Justice, Fred Vensen, died, and was replaced by California governor, Earl Warren, who believed segregation was unconstitutional. Warren, understanding that many in the South would resist the decision, believed that a unanimous decision was important to give the court’s ruling legitimacy. He wrote and rewrote the court’s decision until he finally achieved a unanimous opinion
What were ‘doll experiments’?
Controversial. Used to make arguments that separating students solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority
What were the immediate effects of Brown v. Topeka?
- It reversed the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling, overturning the legal basis for segregation.
- It inspired further legal campaigns against segregation, many of which were successful.
What were the positive impacts in the South?
By the end of 1957, 723 school districts in the Southern ‘border’ states had desegregated, paving the way for desegregation in other areas of life.
What were the negative impacts in the South?
- In the ‘Deep’ South, the day of the Brown decision became known as ‘Black Monday’.
- Many schools said they were making progress but actually did nothing.
- Some politicians, such as Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, demanded resistance to desegregation and threatened to close schools to prevent it.
- Citizens in Indianola, Mississippi, set up the White Citizen’s Council (WCC) in July 1954. Its aims included preserving segregation, especially in schools. It spread rapidly and used extreme violence.
- KKK membership increased and their attacks focused on supporters of Civil Rights.
- Many parents set up local groups to oppose desegregation. They protested outside schools and threatened and intimidated people.
- Many black people felt in a worse position. They had won the legal fight, but enforcing it was going to be both difficult and dangerous.
What were the positive long impacts?
- The Brown case started a process of constant legal pressure for desegregation.
- It brought more attention to the causes of the Civil Rights movement and showed that they could be successful.
What were the negative long impacts?
- Those students who were integrated into white schools in the Deep South faced intimidations, threats and violence. Their education suffered as well as their home lives.
- Black schools, which had offered a good standard of education, were shut and many black teachers lost their jobs.
- Black teachers who were integrated into white schools faced difficulties with white students.
