Plessy v. Ferguson & Brown v. Board of Education

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

  • Upheld Louisiana’s laws requiring segregation of train passengers by race.
  • Established the doctrine of “separate but equal.”

Fourteenth Amendment, Equal Protection Clause (1868)

  • “No state shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Legal Reasoning and Precedent

  • Stare decisis: policy of following legal precedent (“let the decision stand”).
  • Plessy v. Ferguson endorsed segregation for over 50 years based on "separate but equal" doctrine.
  • Thurgood Marshall (NAACP) challenged Jim Crow laws.
  • Won Supreme Court decisions in 1950: Mclaurin v. Oklahoma State and Sweatt v. Painter, challenging segregation at graduate schools.

McLaurin v. Oklahoma State (1950)

  • Ruled that Oklahoma State University violated the Constitution by segregating its one African-American student within the university (e.g., back of class, cafeteria).

Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

  • Required the University of Texas to admit an African-American student to its law school.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

  • Segregated public schools were ruled "inherently" unequal and unconstitutional.
  • Linda Brown was the named plaintiff in a case against segregated schools in Topeka, Kansas.
  • Chief Justice Earl Warren claimed segregated schools were not and never could be equal.
  • Segregation in public schools deprives children of equal opportunities and generates feelings of inferiority.

Impact of Brown Decision

  • Prohibited segregation in housing, public beaches, recreation facilities, and restaurants.
  • Extended equal access to other groups, including women and resident aliens.
  • Strengthened the Civil Rights movement and paved the way for the end of Jim Crow laws.
  • The federal government now took civil rights seriously.

Resistance and Implementation

  • Some Congress members circulated the “Southern Manifesto,” claiming states' rights to ignore the ruling.
  • Brown II (1955): Integration should take place with “all deliberate speed.”
  • Limited initial integration in the South; aggressive measures like forced busing were used.

Significance

  • Brown v. Board of Education is a watershed moment; breaking the “color barrier” officially became a federal priority.
  • Thurgood Marshall was appointed the first African-American Supreme Court justice in 1967.