Early 1950s Segregation and Brown v. Board of Education

Context of Segregation in the Early 1950s

• Segregation was challenged by various court actions.
• White primary and housing covenants were outlawed.
• Some graduate and law schools began admitting Black students.
• The major challenge remained: integration of K-12 schools.
  • Fear of interracial mingling and marriage was a significant Southern taboo.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund

• Led by Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter.
• Engaged in multiple cases across the country.
• Consolidated five cases into Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

Supreme Court Case: Brown v. Board of Education

• Oral arguments drew significant public interest; people camped for seats in the courtroom.
• NAACP lawyers faced John W. Davis, a seasoned Supreme Court litigator.
• Davis's arguments: separate facilities weren't necessarily unequal, states had rights to educate children as they saw fit.

The Decision

• Another hearing was planned but delayed due to Chief Justice Vinson's death.
• Earl Warren, former Governor of California, appointed as Chief Justice by President Eisenhower.
• Decision announced on May 17, 1954.
  • Warren declared unanimously "separate but equal has no place in the Constitution."
  • Held that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
  • Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in the context of education.

Impact of the Decision

• Marked the end of Jim Crow laws constitutionally.
• Seen as a second Emancipation and akin to a Magna Carta.
• Implied the end of using outdated or hand-me-down materials for Black students.
• Promised future access to education institutions closer to home for Black Americans.
• Symbolically closed the era of legally sanctioned segregation in schools.