Making the Case to Integrate Public Schools

1948 The challenge begins.

NAACP develops a strategy in several states to have black families try to enroll their children in all-white neighborhood schools. If they are denied admission, the NAACP takes legal action.

1949 Briggs v. Elliot

Black parents unsuccessfully sue the Clarendon County, South Carolina, school board for buses to transport their children. The suit is refiled to challenge segregation itself in November 1949. The first of the five cases consolidated into Brown. The U. S. District Court denies the request to order desegregation of Clarendon County schools and instead orders the equalization of black schools. This becomes the first of the five cases consolidated into Brown. Judge Julius Waring's dissenting opinion would be used to argue the Supreme Court Case.

http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/briggs.htm

http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/brown_v_board_documents/images/dissenting_opinion_01.gif

1950 McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents

The Supreme Court holds that a black student admitted to a formerly all-white graduate school could not be subjected to segregation that interfered with classroom instruction and student interaction, such as making the student sit in the classroom doorway.

http: //afroamhistory.about.com/library/blmclaurin_v_oklahoma.htm

August 1950 Testing Segregation in Topeka.

Thirteen black parents in Topeka, Kansas, take their children to all-white schools in their neighborhoods. All are denied admission. One of the parents is Oliver Brown.

1950 Sweatt v. Painter

A separate black law school set up by the University of Texas was found to be inferior to the white law school by the Supreme Court, which orders the university to admit blacks to its previously all-white program. The Court holds that the university failed to provide separate but equal education.

http://www.law.du.edu/russell/lh/sweatt/

1950 Bolling v. Sharpe

A Washington, D.C., parent group sues to get 11 black students admitted to the all-white John Philip Sousa Junior High School. The U.S. District Court rules that segregated schools are constitutional in the District of Columbia and the appeal becomes part of the Brown case. The appeal was part of the Brown case to the Supreme Court, but was removed from the case and given a separate opinion because the 14th Amendment was not applicable in the district.

http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/bolling.htm

1951 Belton ( and Bulah) v. Gebhart

Black families file identical cases in Delaware claiming inequitable conditions in black schools. The Delaware chancellor orders the children to be admitted to white schools immediately and the school board appeals to the Supreme Court. The cases are bundled into Brown v. Board of Education.

http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/belton.htm

February 1951 Brown takes shape.

The 13 Topeka parents whose children were denied admission to all-white schools in 1950 file a lawsuit to force admission. Although the request is denied by the U.S. district court, the court notes that black children are adversely affected by segregation.

http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/brown.htm

May 1951 Davis v. Prince Edward County

A lawsuit is filed seeking to end segregation in Virginia schools after 450 students participate in a two-week strike to protest deplorable conditions at the black-only Robert R. Morton High School in Farmville, Virginia. In March of 1952, the U.S. District Court rejects the desegregation request and instead orders the "equalization" of black schools. The appeal is added to Brown.

http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/davis.htm

October 1952 Brown et al. the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court agrees to hear all five cases as Brown et al. v. Board of Education. Attorneys for the plaintiffs bring in more than 30 social scientists and psychologists to confirm the destructive effects of segregation on blacks and whites. The school boards' attorneys use precedent and states' rights as their defense.

May 1954 The Court makes an historic decision.

A unanimous decision by the Supreme Court rules that school segregation is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren writes "in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This historic decision marks the end of the "separate but equal" precedent set by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson.

http: //www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/decision54.htm#opinion

May 1954-May 1955 States resist the decision.

State legislatures in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia reject the Supreme Court's ruling. Some states pass laws that impose sanctions on school districts implementing desegregation, including closing schools and providing public funds for all-white private schools.

May 1955 Brown II

The Supreme Court instructs states to begin integration "with all deliberate speed." Because "all deliberate speed" is a vague phrase, many states are able to stall the Court's order to desegregate their schools.

http: //www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/decision55.htm






					1948 The challenge begins. NAACP develops a strategy in several states to have black families try to enroll their children in all-white neighborhood schools. If they are denied admission, the NAACP takes legal action. 1949 Briggs v. Elliot Black parents unsuccessfully sue the Clarendon County, South Carolina, school board for buses to transport their children. The suit is refiled to challenge segregation itself in November 1949. The first of the five cases consolidated into Brown. The U. S. District Court denies the request to order desegregation of Clarendon County schools and instead orders the equalization of black schools. This becomes the first of the five cases consolidated into Brown. Judge Julius Waring's dissenting opinion would be used to argue the Supreme Court Case. http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/briggs.htm http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/brown_v_board_documents/images/dissenting_opinion_01.gif 1950 McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents The Supreme Court holds that a black student admitted to a formerly all-white graduate school could not be subjected to segregation that interfered with classroom instruction and student interaction, such as making the student sit in the classroom doorway. http: //afroamhistory.about.com/library/blmclaurin_v_oklahoma.htm August 1950 Testing Segregation in Topeka. Thirteen black parents in Topeka, Kansas, take their children to all-white schools in their neighborhoods. All are denied admission. One of the parents is Oliver Brown. 1950 Sweatt v. Painter A separate black law school set up by the University of Texas was found to be inferior to the white law school by the Supreme Court, which orders the university to admit blacks to its previously all-white program. The Court holds that the university failed to provide separate but equal education. http://www.law.du.edu/russell/lh/sweatt/ 1950 Bolling v. Sharpe A Washington, D.C., parent group sues to get 11 black students admitted to the all-white John Philip Sousa Junior High School. The U.S. District Court rules that segregated schools are constitutional in the District of Columbia and the appeal becomes part of the Brown case. The appeal was part of the Brown case to the Supreme Court, but was removed from the case and given a separate opinion because the 14th Amendment was not applicable in the district. http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/bolling.htm 1951 Belton ( and Bulah) v. Gebhart Black families file identical cases in Delaware claiming inequitable conditions in black schools. The Delaware chancellor orders the children to be admitted to white schools immediately and the school board appeals to the Supreme Court. The cases are bundled into Brown v. Board of Education. http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/belton.htm February 1951 Brown takes shape. The 13 Topeka parents whose children were denied admission to all-white schools in 1950 file a lawsuit to force admission. Although the request is denied by the U.S. district court, the court notes that black children are adversely affected by segregation. http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/brown.htm May 1951 Davis v. Prince Edward County A lawsuit is filed seeking to end segregation in Virginia schools after 450 students participate in a two-week strike to protest deplorable conditions at the black-only Robert R. Morton High School in Farmville, Virginia. In March of 1952, the U.S. District Court rejects the desegregation request and instead orders the "equalization" of black schools. The appeal is added to Brown. http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/davis.htm October 1952 Brown et al. the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agrees to hear all five cases as Brown et al. v. Board of Education. Attorneys for the plaintiffs bring in more than 30 social scientists and psychologists to confirm the destructive effects of segregation on blacks and whites. The school boards' attorneys use precedent and states' rights as their defense. May 1954 The Court makes an historic decision. A unanimous decision by the Supreme Court rules that school segregation is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren writes "in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This historic decision marks the end of the "separate but equal" precedent set by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson. http: //www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/decision54.htm#opinion May 1954-May 1955 States resist the decision. State legislatures in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia reject the Supreme Court's ruling. Some states pass laws that impose sanctions on school districts implementing desegregation, including closing schools and providing public funds for all-white private schools. May 1955 Brown II The Supreme Court instructs states to begin integration "with all deliberate speed." Because "all deliberate speed" is a vague phrase, many states are able to stall the Court's order to desegregate their schools. http: //www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/decision55.htm
		Making the Case to Integrate Public Schools Once organizations like the NAACP began to win cases granting black students acceptance into professional and higher education schools for whites, attention turned to the K-12 arena. Between 1948 and the Brown decision in 1954, several lawsuits in various parts of the country forced judges to view public school integration as a national concern. Segregation and the "Separate but Equal" Doctrine Making the Case to Integrate Public Schools Post-Brown Aftermath The Pendulum Swings Back Home