Introduction
The Supreme Court’s Decisions helped reshape the legal system in the United States to address the rights and liberties of all citizens. This paper will analyze the Supreme Court’s decision in the Brown vs. Board of Education case and discuss its implications for civil rights. In this case, the plaintiff pointed to the lack of equality between the education in segregated schools. This paper will analyze the court’s decision in the Brown vs. Board of Education case.
Supreme Court Decision
The case discussed in this paper is a lawsuit that substantially impacted the civil rights of African-Americans. The Brown vs. Board of Education case took place in 1952 (“Brown vs Board of Education,” 2021). At that time, the question of racial segregation was an unresolved public problem, and black people could not attend all the facilities available to white citizens. One example of such segregation were public schools, with most having policies prohibiting black students from attending the classes. Although the case is titled Brown vs. Board of Education, this was a class-action lawsuit and a result of the efforts by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) representatives, who filed similar lawsuits in different states (“Brown vs Board of Education,” 2021). This case began with Brown suing the Education Board, who denied his daughter Linda’s attendance at an all-white public school.
Notably, this case overruled the previous decision by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson case. In the latter lawsuit, the judges decided that it was legal to not allow African-Americans into some institutions as long as they had equal facilities to the white people (“Brown vs Board of Education,” 2021). For example, if there were schools for African-Americans, other education institutions could forbid this population from enrolling. The judges decided that schools that practice segregation are “inherently unequal” (“Brown vs Board of Education,” 2021, para. 10). Hence, this Supreme Court Case is among the most notable lawsuits in the history of civil rights because it challenges the previous doctrine that allowed segregating African-Americans from other citizens.
Analysis
The question before the court was whether the “separate but equal” concept was true in real life. This concept means that the African-American population had the same rights as the other citizens. However, many places, including schools or public transport facilities, did not allow the African-Americans to enter or use their services. Hence, the access was not equal, and the court had to decide if this approach was constitutional. With this particular case, education was the focus, and the court had to determine if it was constitutional not to allow African-Amerian children to study in the same schools as white children.
The court ruled that it was unconstitutional to segregate children in public schools (“Brown vs Board of Education,” 2021, para. 10). Ultimately, this decision contributed to the civil liberties of the African-American population, who gained access to education facilities that were previously available only to white people. Moreover, with this case, the justices’ decision was unanimous, showing their full support for the case of abandoning segregation in schools.
Personal Assessment
Personally, I agree with the court’s decision to declare racial segregation at schools as unconstitutional. The main effect of this ruling was the African-American children being allowed to go to the same schools as other children. This decision affected the education system gradually, with the African-American community members having to set examples by entering schools or universities and facing resistance from others (Rothman, 2018). Moreover, access to education for children affected society in general because they can study, go to college, and pursue a career, which impacts the poverty levels. However, according to Rothman (2018), although the courts’ decision, in this case, contributed to the civil rights movement, even today, many schools remain segregated due to community issues. Hence, more work from policymakers is required to support and develop schools in disadvantaged communities to ensure that they offer the same quality of education as other public schools.
Some changes to the ruling could include support for the African-American citizens in obtaining an education and supporting the African-American teachers. For example, Eckert argues that in segregated schools for the African-Americans, only the teachers of the same ethnicity could work (as cited in “Wheaton faculty experts on the impact of Brown v. Board of Education,” 2018). These teachers were fired when the ruling took effect since most students choose to go to the nonsegregated institutions.
Conclusion
In summary, this paper is an analysis of the Supreme Court’s civil rights case. In the Brown vs. Board of Education, the court ruled that segregation of schools is unlawful, challenging the “separated but equal doctrine.” Hence, this case made a substantial contribution to the civil rights movement. The impact of this ruling forced schools to open their doors to the African-Americans, ultimately allowing them to receive a good education. One change that could improve this decision is including the African-American teachers, most of whom were fired after the schools abandoned segregation.
References
Brown v. Board of Education. (2021). Web.
Rothman, L. (2018). Linda Brown’s legacy and the hidden ripple effect of Brown v. Board of Education. Time. Web.
Wheaton faculty experts on the impact of Brown v. Board of Education. (2018). Web.