The US Supreme Court is the highest juridical institution in the country and by now the court has reviewed over five hundred cases with different background and outcome. Mostly, those lawsuits had a significant impact on the Americans and the further development. Still, there were specific cases, which had a notable impact on the US history. One of those is the case of Brown v. Board of Education that took place on May 17th, 1954.
It is well-known that starting from 1896 the doctrine “separate but equal” was confirmed by the Supreme Court during the Plessy v. Ferguson case hearing. Specifically it confirmed that racial segregation within the US does not violate the XIV Amendment to the United States Constitution. It allowed whites to separate almost all aspects of lives from blacks’ attendance (Wormser, 2016). Yet, it actually continued racial discrimination for the next half of century, until Brown v. Board of Education of Topeca (Kansas) case. Actually, it was about the local school system and The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wanted to forbid segregation within educational system of the US. It violated the equality guaranteed in XIV Amendment and blacks led by the father of Linda Brown supported this idea (US Courts, 2016). No wonder that such an aspiration had a significant resonance in the American society and, after the district court made a decision in favor to the Board of Education remembering the doctrine of 1896, it was appealed to the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court heard the arguments of both Southern States and NAACP’s representatives twice: in 1952 by Chief Justice Vinson and in 1953 by Chief Justice Warren (Vinson died between these two hearings). Finally, in 1954 Earl Warren confirmed that “separate is not equal” and the doctrine of segregation actually violated the XIV Amendment (US Courts, 2016).
Nowadays, the Brown v. Board of Education case is considered as a landmark case taking into account how it changed the concept of racial perception within the United States. The major lesson of this lawsuit is that the Court could understand the segregation itself (even if teachers, classroom conditions, etc.) was equal for whites and blacks, the idea of the segregation is wrong by its mean (Justia Law, 2016). It was simply not constitutional. Another significant lesson for the judges and society was the unanimous opinion signed after the famous speech of Justice Warren. It is reported that even though he managed to convince all the judges, he still made them sign the opinion (Justia Law, 2016).
References
Justia Law,. (2016). Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Justia Law. Retrieved 29 May 2016, from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/347/483/case.html
US Courts,. (2016). Brown v. Board of Education Podcast. United States Courts. Retrieved 29 May 2016, from http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/supreme-court-landmarks/brown-v-board-education-podcast
Wormser, R. (2016). The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . Plessy v. Ferguson | PBS.Pbs.org. Retrieved 29 May 2016, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html
