Remembering Brown v. Board of Education

The Warren Court, which decided the Brown cases

Brown v. Board of Education stands as one of the most important Supreme Court decisions in our nation's history. The 1954 case struck down Plessy v. Ferguson and "Separate but Equal," and mandated that public schools be desegregated. The case was remarkable not only for its substantive ruling, but the manner in which the Court made its determination. The ruling was unanimous, and written in a manner intended to be understood by all people. As we wrestle with a radical Supreme Court that continually issues unsettling decisions, let's look back at a case in which the Court sided with justice and equality, and did so in a manner that is almost unheard of nowadays. 

Linda Brown, one of the plaintiffs in Brown,
walking with her sister to school

Brown was a consolidation of five cases, from four different states. It was a class action lawsuit. Each case centered around the same issue: African-American school children wanted to attend schools that only allowed white children. At this time, "separate but equal" accommodations based on race were constitutional. Jim Crow laws were upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1896 in Plessy v. Ferguson. In considering the issue of school segregation, the Court in Brown was also considering the validity of the Plessy decision. 

Let's consider the events that provided the backdrop to the Brown decision: deep racial strife, southern unity against desegregation, the Cold War and McCarthyism. Brown was being decided during a particularly volatile moment in U.S. history. 

The plaintiffs in Brown argued "that segregated public schools are not 'equal' and cannot be made 'equal,' and that hence they are deprived of the equal protection of the laws" under the 14th Amendment. In examining the ratification of the 14th Amendment and the issue of segregation, the Court determined that Congress' intent could not "be determined with any degree of certainty." Furthermore, the Court concluded that there was even less guidance "in the history of the Fourteenth Amendment relating to its intended effect on public education." The Court instead looked at education in its current state and the effect that segregation had on students. It adopted an evolutive method of constitutional interpretation to decide the case. 

The Court's description of education is significant. Education is not considered a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution (though some state constitutions deem it as such). Absent a positive state law, states are not required to maintain a school system. The Brown Court describes education in a manner that alludes to the profound importance of education, without specifically deeming it a fundamental right. 

Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. 

The Court continues, 

We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does. 

Chief Justice Earl Warren

The Court unanimously ruled that separate is never equal, and that segregated educational facilities create a sense of inferiority among black children that inhibits their "educational and mental development." The Court unanimously struck down "separate but equal" as violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. It articulated its ruling in a short and intelligible decision. This was a ruling for the people. 

Kenneth Clark observing a child during the "doll test"

It is important to note that the Court was influenced by Kenneth and Mamie Clark's "doll test." In these tests, the Clarks looked at what color of dolls black children from segregated schools chose to play with. The black children typically preferred white or lighter-shaded dolls over black ones. They also associated the white dolls with being "good" and "pretty," while describing the black dolls as "bad" and "ugly." The Clark's study came under attack for its methodology, but nonetheless proved very influential to the Warren Court. 

Some states refused to comply with the Brown decision. They would simply maintain segregated schools or shut down facilities to avoid integrating them. The Warren Court responded to such defiance in what is commonly called Brown II. The Court issued a structural injunction against schools that failed or refused to integrate. It created a series of basic principles and let local district judges enforce and apply them. All courts would cooperate to achieve a constitutional goal by employing immense equitable power to reform the structure and operation of non-complying schools. Schools were required to "admit . . . on a racially nondiscriminatory basis with all deliberate speed" (emphasis added). 

Opposition to Brown persisted. Over 100 Congressmen signed the Southern Manifesto, in which they pledged to fight racial desegregation and the Brown decision. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus deployed the National Guard to prevent The Little Rock Nine from attending a racially-segregated school. The students were permitted to attend only after President Dwight Eisenhower deployed federal troops to escort them and assumed control over the Arkansas National Guard.

Brown has also come under attack quite recently. Amidst a backdrop of school resegregation, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that seriously undermined the Brown decision. In 2007's Seattle-Louisville Cases, the Court held the schools' voluntary racial balancing programs unconstitutional. Thus, schools that want to address school segregation or promote racial diversity will essentially have to do so without using race as a criteria. 

In spite of these current developments, Brown will remain a high point for our Supreme Court and our nation. It encompasses the most important elements upon which a fair society is based: justice, equality, and democracy. 

Brown Timeline: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/brown-v-board/timeline.html

Brown I: http://www.nps.gov/brvb/historyculture/upload/brown%20US%20supreme%20court.pdf

Brown II: http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13102254740887304967&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr