Brown vs
Brown vs. Board of EducationBrown v. Board of Education was a landmark case in the history of American education. There were several events and issues which led up to this critical event. From the 1892 Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court Case, the precedent of "separate but equal" was set. This doctrine effected the school system , in that there were separate schools for white and black children. These schools were constitutional as long as they were equal. In the 1900s, with industrialism in the forefront, the cities went through a process of ghettoization. This concept is crucial because it illustrates that people began to live in ethnic enclaves. These neighborhoods later effected where students would attend school. In turn, the quality of the schools were also effected depending on the area. In 1908, the case of Braya College v. Kentucky attacked the racially mixed school of Braya College in Kentucky. The state mandated that there be separate facilities separated by at least 25 miles. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling and Braya College was segregated. Then in 1931, the issue of segregation was challenged by the Lemon Grove Incident in San Diego. In this case, which was used as a precedent for the Brown v. Board of Education case, the parents of Mexican children demanded that their children be given the same education as the local ranch owners' children. The judge favored for the Mexican children and ruled that school desegregation was illegal.
The 1936 Berlin Olympics marked a historical moment in history when Jesse Owens broke the racial boundaries. This moment, much to the unhappiness of the world's leading political leaders, opened up the arena of world class athletics to a greater number of athletes regardless of race. Although this did not happen instantaneously, the Berlin Olympics marked the beginning of this trend.
Finally, another event leding up to the Brown v. Board of Education was the case of Gaines v. Missouri in 1938. In this case, Gaines, a black law student, wanted to go to law school in Missouri. Due to a lack of separate facilities, Missouri had the option of paying for Gaines to attend law school in another state which has separate facilities. Gaines, however, wanted to go to school in Missouri. The Supreme Court ruled that either Missouri allow Gaines to attend school at that institution or they build him separate facilities, which they did. This case was very similar to the case of Sweatt v. Painter in 1950, which will be detailed later.
The decade between 1950 and 1960 was a very shakeytime period in terms of segregation and the educational system. The Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education was the mainevent during that decade in regards to integrating and equalizing the school system. This case challenged the doctrine of "separate but equal." It was ruled, in an unanimous decision, that segregated schools were inherently unequal. Furthermore, the judges, in their ruling stated that "A sense of...
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