Racial segregation was one of the most atrocious aspects of US history. Fortunately, as time progressed, there were attempts at abolishing this issue, promoting projects that could assist the rise of racial equality. The Brown v Board of Education of Topeka was one of the events that resulted in a step towards demolishing inequality, being preceded by an unfair ruling. The following text will review the predecessor, the ruling itself and its impact.
The end of the 19th century marked the beginning of the aforementioned atrocity of US history. The Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court ruling legalized segregation in facilities as long as they were equal. It resulted in black Americans being banned from being present in the same facilities as white ones, caused by Jim Crow’s laws. The ruling would persist in the country for the following sixty years.
However, there were attempts towards abolishing racial inequality in the US, with the NAACP being one of the main contributors. They would file anti-segregation lawsuits in various states in America. One of them was the aforementioned Brown v Board case. In it, Oliver Brown created a suit against Topeka’s Board of Education since his daughter was denied entrance to its all-white schools. He stated that educational facilities were unequal to those for white Americans and that it violated the equal protection clause. The decision acknowledged the inherent inequality of segregated schools and stated that plaintiffs were stripped of the protection promised by the 14th Amendment.
The case was then followed by other impactful anti-segregation events. For example, a year after the decision, Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat in a bus, which resulted in extra boycotts and demonstrations. These acts were performed by a movement that would finally cause the abolishment of Jim Crowe’s laws in the South. Thus, the Brown v Board ruling caused the formation of the Civil Rights movement.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court ruling of 1954 was a step towards equality, preceded by an unfair ruling and followed by another impactful case. It was triggered by the injustice of racial segregation which had been present for six decades by then. The case was caused by Oliver Brown’s daughter being banned from entering Topeka’s all-white schools. Fortunately, the decision acknowledged the unfair position of all black schools and that it was a violation of the 14th Amendment. As a result, the event was followed by Rosa Parks’ protest, further aiming towards abolishing segregation.