The Impact of Brown vs Board of Education Declaration in the History of U.S. Citizenship and Civil Rights since 1954
Introduction
As the Second World War ended, Americans breathed a sigh of relief since the Great Depression also ended. However, the end of the two marked the beginning of a new struggle for a specific population of the United States. After risking their lives in the war alongside other American citizens, the African Americans were rudely welcomed to the reality of segregation.
Fighting for the American nation was not enough to warrant them equal treatment by the white American population. Civil rights movements and mass revolts seemed to fail as the African Americans struggled to attain equality in the American nation. The only alternative to gaining equality for the African Americans was the Supreme Court, whose opinions had repeatedly changed the course of American history.
An event that would rewrite the course of the American history took place on the May 17 1954. The United States Supreme Court declared the segregation of Negro children in public schools as a direct violation of the protection of equality (Sarat 104). The unanimous decision issued on Brown vs. Board of Education Topeka Kansas created the foundation for the beginning of the struggle for the civil rights movements.
The decision declared that for equal opportunity to be guaranteed, segregation had to end as it went against the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This decision created ripples and influenced various aspects of the American society - more so in relation to the African Americans. The focus of this paper is to analyze the impact that the decision of the case had to the American civil rights and citizenship since its declaration in 1954.
As the United States marked the 60th anniversary since the passing of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, numerous individuals viewed the ruling as a significant event in the history of the United States of America. On the other hand, other individuals tried to analyze the progress that had been realized in regards to civil rights since the ruling.
While Brown’s case was primarily aimed at solving the segregation problem, sub-textually it was based on solving the equality and justice issues. Having declared the practice of segregation as illegal and unconstitutional, the Supreme Court set in motion the battle of equality for the American minority.
In contrast, the court’s decision had one major undoing in the sense that it seemed only to add value to the African Americans. The court failed to integrate the challenges and issues of the American society at large (Sarat 107). It failed to highlight the importance of desegregation to the entire American society, by failing to highlight the benefits that the American society as a whole would gain by desegregating schools.
The Supreme Court should have highlighted the fact that a more unified and democratic nation could be achieved through the integration of all races in the schooling system. The white community was thus exempted from any form of responsibility in an effort to ensure justice and equality for all.
Therefore, the shortcoming of the court’s decision was its inability to bring on board all the groups in the American society in finding a legal remedy for the various inequalities within the American social structures. A number of aspects of the American society are said to have been revolutionized by the declaration made in the Brown case.
One of the widely accepted claims is the role that the decision played in influencing and motivating the civil rights movements. One of the very core perspectives the African Americans got from the ruling was the fact that they had the backing of the government. This was the long awaited and much-needed motivation in pushing for their equal treatment in the larger American society.
The self-executing nature of the brown case was an indicator to the black community that the annunciation of the law meant that it had to be obeyed. The Supreme Court played a significant role in the American society in the 20th century, to an extend that its absence would have led to the United States realizing very few changes in the social, political and legal dimensions (Warren 483). The decision was a reaffirmation of the legal status of the African Americans and thus it deeply influenced the civil rights movement.
Having helped the world defeat the Nazi policies and ideologies in Germany, the American Society turned the critical lens into its society and focused on eliminating some of the social ills that it faced. Demonstrations such as the bus boycott in Montgomery were intensified right after the ruling on the Brown case (Golub 492).
The decision made in the Brown case helped activists and civil rights supporters to turn their attention to the power that lay in social and economic forces. Many grassroots activists became more vocal and visible as they felt that the case had laid the path to the possibilities that lay in cohesive social power (Golub 498). The decision of the Supreme Court in the case became the pathway that led to the hearing of over 200 cases on school desegregation.
In about two years, Border States managed to attain seventy percent integration. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provided the much-needed legal support to the Brown case ruling. Having been supported by the executive arm of government, the Act gave power to the federal government to cut funding to public schools that failed to desegregate their student.
The Act also accorded the Department of Justice the capacity to file lawsuits in an effort to desegregate schools. The influences of the Brown case ruling on the Civil Rights Movement can be analyzed from two perspectives: indirect influences and direct influences (Sarat 109). One of the most direct impacts that it had on the Civil Rights Movement was that, it resulted in the eventual desegregation of schools.
However, from an indirect perspective, the issues that were raised by the Civil Rights Movement found the much-needed national attention. It also led to the motivation of other grassroots activists, since it helped legitimize the causes of the civil rights groups. The case had an instantaneous effect on segregation, more so in the border states and some of the portions in the peripheral south.
Increased percentages of black children attending school were realized around the country. In Kentucky, for instance, the percentage rose from zero to 28 percent in the period between 1957 and 1958. In Oklahoma, the percentage rose from zero to 28 percent by the year 1963. However, little impact was felt most of the southern states little impact was felt regarding desegregation in schools. The situation could partly be as a result of the smaller black population in the south.
Historians and scholars alike, support the idea the Brown case played a significant role in in the fight against social injustices nationally, through highlighting the plight and issues of the civil rights groups. However, this was not entirely true. The Brown case had managed to increase the attention to the civil rights plight only in the south while the north remained largely unaware.
According to an opinion poll that was conducted in 1955, it was realized that only 17 percent of the white American population in the North had discussed the Supreme Court case in the week before the declaration was made as compared to the 60 percent of the South (Patterson 99). Another impact that has been associated with the Brown case is that it aroused and increased the sympathy and support of the whites in the North to the causes of Civil Rights Groups (Shultziner 123).
For the first time, the Congress had shown the willingness to support legislation aimed at fostering the civil rights causes. The case by Brown challenged the American nation to face and accept the realities of various aspects and values of equity and fairness within their society. It created the impetus for the American people to rewrite their story and make right its wrongs of the past.
The Brown case was the foundation upon which the Americans would use to come to terms with the deeply flawed concept of democracy. The narrative of the nation in relation to rights, privileges, and democracy, were revolutionized by the decision of the case. The Brown’s case also legitimized the civil rights causes. From the success of the case, grassroots activists were motivated to push on with their issues (Joseph 709).
According to Martin Luther King Jr, the Brown case had: “brought hope to millions of disinherited Negroes who had formerly dared only dream of freedom” (Warren 483). Another notable activist during that period was Fred Shuttlesworth, who led the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham and noted that the decision by the Supreme Court regarding the case by Brown had brought him to the realization that they (activists) had the power to impact and influence change.
The American culture was greatly transformed by the Supreme Court ruling. By culture, the reference would significantly impact the value systems, ideas, symbols, beliefs, and norms that were permanently imprinted in the American society and its way of life. For one, the court’s decision reactivated the long-standing boundaries of “we” and “they.”
The core values and ideologies of freedom, individuality, and liberalism that were enshrined in the Constitution did not form the basis of the social interactions among the black Americans and their white counterparts. In as much as Brown’s case had played a significant role in establishing the moral and legal motivation for Civil Rights Movement, little is known in relation to the cultural aspects that accrued from the case (Patterson 54).
The equal but separate doctrine had established the phenotypic discrimination of individuals in America. Color formed the basis of exclusion and inclusion in the American society. The Brown v. Board of Education case also allowed for the legitimatization of the cultural perspective associated with racism.
The Supreme Court in its ruling created the perception that racism was a factor that went beyond the confines of behavior and actions to individuals. It allowed racism to be viewed from an institutional, decision-making and value systems’ perspective. For the white southerners, the court’s decision hinted a possible drastic change in their way of life.
They held the view that they no longer enjoyed the constitutional support and hence their cultural values would be at stake. Shockingly, a great population in the south was unwilling to accept the court’s decision and opposed the recognition of values of equity and justice. Fortunately, the situation changed through countless efforts of civil rights groups in addressing the issues of equality.
A better part of the American population held the view that they were superior and privileged compared to the minority groups in the country, such as the African Americans. Having arrived in America as slaves, the white American population was not ready to accept the former slaves as equal partners and citizens in the United States.
The Americans’ attitudes and values systems allowed for the discrimination and segregation of African Americans in relation to access of opportunities, facilities, and resources. The Brown case changed this since it created the legal and constitutional framework for readdressing these values. It put in motion the policies that would help cleanse the American culture of its discriminatory and racist practices.
The decision would permeate to other aspects of the American society such as employment, recreation, voting, and public accommodation. This further restricted the racist tendencies of the white Americans. Ironically, the Brown case decision gave birth to racial progressiveness and gradualism, which encompassed a number of facets (Sarat 115).
Its components included the salience of historical and societal racism to define the social relationship between the whites and African Americans. Secondly, it involved the need for an active government participation in the destruction of the values, traditions, and symbols that fostered the supremacy of the white population and segregation (Patterson 86).
Thirdly, it comprised of conscious measures that were aimed at overcoming the disadvantages that had been perpetuated for decades. The power that had been given to the lower Federal Courts following the Supreme Court ruling, allowed them to develop remedial measures that were put in place to target the racist and discriminatory practices that reeked on the black community.
This pushed for the shift from a voluntary effort that was being placed in the racism eradication program to one that would incorporate the elimination of various obstacles that hindered the fulfillment of the constitutional principles. The passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 officiated the executive arm of government and Congress’s position in the transformation of the racial and white supremacy ideologies (Powers 32).
The achievements realized since the ruling of the Supreme Court had not been attained so effortlessly. Great opposition hampered the process with acts of violence and police brutality being perpetrated against anti-segregationists with the aim of preserving the values system of white supremacy.
Civil rights issues underlined a great deal of the events during the 1960s and 70s. The politicians, for instance, would later be divided along their position in civil rights matter. The Democrats, having become a pro-civil rights party after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, saw an unprecedented enrollment of African Americans.
In the Supreme Court’s decision on the Brown v. Board of Education, it instigated a pragmatic departure from the separatist and unequal doctrine of white supremacy to one that focused on an integrated African American society with new values and social structures. The citizenship in America for the African Americans, realized a dramatic turn upon the decision on the case.
Having endured slavery for over two centuries, the African Americans believed that the abolition of slavery would mark the onset of their freedoms. However, the end of slavery marked the beginning of their struggle for freedom and equality. Several events would lead to the arrival of the Brown v. Board of Education case at the Supreme Court.
The decision of the Supreme Court became redefining moment for the future of the African Americans and the history of the American nation. The social structure in America before the Supreme Court ruling in the Brown case was largely segregated and discriminative against the African Americans.
They were considered as second class citizens despite the constitutional stipulation of equality. The success of the case became a major win for the Civil Rights Movement in America and inspired the grassroots activists to push further their issues. From American citizenship, the case created the platform upon which the American people would eliminate social injustice and inequality and allow for the dissolution of outdated ideologies of racial supremacy.
Although much had been done to bring equality to the country, the Brown’s case was the bold step that renewed the clamor for equality. The fact that the decision was released by the highest court in the land meant that everything had to be done to align the country’s jurisprudence with the direction provided by the court. Additionally, it meant that the Constitution had granted citizens certain rights regardless of their racial origin and other idiosyncrasies that could be used to discriminate against a particular group of people. Therefore, the Brown’s ruling provided the much-needed direction that would redefine the history of America in many.
Conclusion
Having participated in the Civil War, the First World War, and the Second World War, the African American population expected an equal treatment in the American society as stipulated by law and by virtue of the role they had played in defending the political, economic and social structures of the country.
This, however, turned out not to be the case and hence created the long-standing battle for equal rights and justice. The discussion provided in the paper highlights the importance of the Brown case not only to the civil rights but also to the American history at large. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 all came to fruition after the decision on the Brown case.
A person can argue that the Civil Rights Movement was one of the greatest beneficiaries of the Brown case decision. The Brown case remains as the hallmark of the triumph of the African Americans in the struggle for equality and the promise of the fulfillment of justice. The age-old battle of equality by the African Americans does highlight a huge part of the United States history.
It tells the story of the social system and the changes that have occurred in it over the years. However, most importantly it highlights the importance of the Supreme Court and the role it has played in shaping the great American nation’s structures. Decades later, progress has been made much more remains to be accomplished in fulfilling the promise of equality.
Works Cited
Golub, Mark. "Remembering Massive Resistance to School Desegregation."Law and History Review 31.03 (2013): 491-530. Print.
Joseph, Peniel E. "Rethinking the Black Power Era." The Journal of Southern History 75.3 (2009): 707-716. Print.
Patterson, James T. Brown V. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Internet resource.
Powers, Jeanne M. "On Separate Paths: The Mexican American and African American Legal Campaigns against School Segregation." American Journal of Education 121.1 (2014): 29-55. Print.
Sarat, Austin, ed. Race, law, and culture: reflections on Brown v. Board of education. Oxford University Press, USA, 1997. Print.
Shultziner, Doron. "The Social-Psychological Origins of the Montgomery Bus Boycott: Social Interaction and Humiliation in the Emergence of Social Movements." Mobilization: An International Quarterly 18.2 (2013): 117-142. Print.
Warren, Chief Justice Earl. "Brown v. Board of Education." United States Reports 347 (1954): 483. Print.
