which lawyer fought for brown vs board of education

What lawyer argued Brown vs the Board of Education?

Thurgood MarshallThe NAACP's chief counsel, Thurgood Marshall—who was later appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967—argued the case before the Supreme Court for the plaintiffs.

Who was the name of the lawyer for Brown during the Brown v Board of Ed Supreme Court case?

Thurgood MarshallBoard of Education of Topeka reached the Supreme Court. African American lawyer (and future Supreme Court justice) Thurgood Marshall led Brown's legal team, and on May 17, 1954, the high court handed down its decision.

What was Thurgood Marshall role in Brown v Board?

Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education (1950). Having won these cases, and thus, establishing precedents for chipping away Jim Crow laws in higher education, Marshall succeeded in having the Supreme Court declare segregated public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

What did Thurgood Marshall say about Brown v. Board of Education?

When the case went to the Supreme Court, Marshall argued that school segregation was a violation of individual rights under the 14th Amendment. He also asserted that the only justification for continuing to have separate schools was to keep people who were slaves "as near that stage as possible."

Who was the chief attorney for Brown v. Board of Education?

Board of Education of Topeka . Thurgood Marshall, the head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, served as chief attorney for the plaintiffs.

Who replaced Vinson in Brown v. Board of Education?

But in September 1953, before Brown v. Board of Education was to be heard, Vinson died, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower replaced him with Earl Warren, then governor of California.

What was the NAACP working for in the 1950s?

But by the early 1950s, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) was working hard to challenge segregation laws in public schools, and had filed lawsuits on behalf of plaintiffs in states such as South Carolina, Virginia and Delaware .

What states acted in accordance with the verdict?

While Kansas and some other states acted in accordance with the verdict, many school and local officials in the South defied it. In one major example, Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas called out the state National Guard to prevent Black students from attending high school in Little Rock in 1957.

When did Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka come to the Supreme Court?

When Brown’s case and four other cases related to school segregation first came before the Supreme Court in 1952, the Court combined them into a single case under the name Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka .

When was the Separate But Equal doctrine first ruled?

Separate But Equal Doctrine. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that racially segregated public facilities were legal, so long as the facilities for Black people and whites were equal.

When did Rosa Parks refuse to give up her seat on the bus?

In 1955, a year after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus.

Description

The U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, was bundled with four related cases and a decision was rendered on May 17, 1954. Three lawyers, Thurgood Marshall (center), chief counsel for the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund and lead attorney on the Briggs case, with George E. C. Hayes (left) and James M.

Source-Dependent Questions

The phrase "equal justice under law" is featured in this photograph. It was proposed by the architects planning the U.S. Supreme Court building and then approved by the justices in 1932. What does “equal justice under law” mean?

Citation Information

"George E. C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and James M. Nabrit congratulating each other on the Brown decision," Associated Press, 17 May 1954. Courtesy of Library of Congress

Who were the judges in Brown v. Board of Education?

U.S. circuit judges (from left to right) Robert A. Katzmann, Damon J. Keith, and Sonia Sotomayor at a 2004 exhibit on the Fourteenth Amendment, Thurgood Marshall, and Brown v. Board of Education

Who was the plaintiff in the Brown case?

(son of the original Brown team member), with assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union, persuaded Linda Brown Smith —who now had her own children in Topeka schools—to be a plaintiff in reopening Brown. They were concerned that the Topeka Public Schools' policy of "open enrollment" had led to and would lead to further segregation. They also believed that with a choice of open enrollment, white parents would shift their children to "preferred" schools that would create both predominantly African American and predominantly European American schools within the district. The district court reopened the Brown case after a 25-year hiatus, but denied the plaintiffs' request finding the schools "unitary." In 1989, a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit on 2–1 vote found that the vestiges of segregation remained with respect to student and staff assignment. In 1993, the Supreme Court denied the appellant School District's request for certiorari and returned the case to District Court Judge Richard Rodgers for implementation of the Tenth Circuit's mandate.

What did the Southerners view Brown as?

Many Southern white Americans viewed Brown as "a day of catastrophe —a Black Monday —a day something like Pearl Harbor ." In the face of entrenched Southern opposition, progress on integrating American schools moved slowly:

How many pages did the Brown II decision have?

However, the decision's 14 pages did not spell out any sort of method for ending racial segregation in schools, and the Court's second decision in Brown II ( 349 U.S. 294 (1955)) only ordered states to desegregate "with all deliberate speed".

What was the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?

483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality.

Why was the Board of Education of Topeka named after Oliver Brown?

The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas" was named after Oliver Brown as a legal strategy to have a man at the head of the roster. The lawyers, and the National Chapter of the NAACP, also felt that having Mr. Brown at the head of the roster would be better received by the U.S. Supreme Court Justices.

When did Brown II take place?

In 1955, the Supreme Court considered arguments by the schools requesting relief concerning the task of desegregation. In their decision, which became known as " Brown II " the court delegated the task of carrying out school desegregation to district courts with orders that desegregation occur "with all deliberate speed," a phrase traceable to Francis Thompson 's poem, " The Hound of Heaven ."

What was the landmark decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education?

Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the U.S. Supreme Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for students of different races to be unconstitutional.

Which amendment prohibited the operation of separate public schools based on race?

The Justices decided to rehear the case in the fall with special attention paid to whether the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause prohibited the operation of separate public schools based on race.

How many families were involved in the Topeka class action lawsuit?

n 1950, the Topeka Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) organized another case, this time a class action suit comprised of 13 families.

When did segregation begin in Kansas?

Segregation in Schools. Elementary schools in Kansas had been segregated since 1879 by a state law allowing cities with populations of 15,000 or more to establish separate schools for black children and white children. African American parents in Kansas began filing court challenges as early as 1881.

When did the NAACP appeal to the Supreme Court?

The plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1952 and were joined by four similar NAACP-sponsored cases from Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

When did black parents start filing court challenges in Kansas?

African American parents in Kansas began filing court challenges as early as 1881. By 1950, 11 court challenges to segregated schools had reached the Kansas State Supreme Court. None of the cases successfully overturned the state law.

When did Warren support Mexican students?

Warren had supported the integration of Mexican-American students in California school systems in 1947, after Mendez v. Westminster and when Brown v. Board of Education was reheard, Warren was able to bring the Justices to a unanimous decision. On May 14, 1954, Chief Justice Warren delivered the opinion of the Court, stating, "We conclude that, ...

What was the significance of Brown v Board of Education?

May 17, 1954 marks a defining moment in the history of the United States. On that day, the Supreme Court declared the doctrine of “separate but equal” unconstitutional and handed LDF the most celebrated victory in its storied history. Although the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v.

What states did the Brown case take place in?

Brown itself was not a single case, but rather a coordinated group of five lawsuits against school districts in Kansas, South Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A child born to a Black mother in a state like Mississippi... has exactly the same rights as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States.

What was the impact of Brown's victory on the civil rights movement?

But striking down segregation in the nation’s public schools provided a major catalyst for the civil rights movement, making possible advances in desegregating housing, public accommodations , and institutions of higher education.

What did the Supreme Court order in Charlotte-Mecklenburg?

Charlotte-Mecklenburg (1971) that the Supreme Court issued mandates that segregation be dismantled “root and branch,” outlined specific factors to be considered to eliminate effects of segregation, and ensured that federal district courts had the authority to do so.

How many justices were involved in the Plessy v Ferguson case?

Board of Education was ultimately unanimous, it occurred only after a hard-fought, multi-year campaign to persuade all nine justices to overturn the “separate but equal” doctrine that their predecessors had endorsed in the Court’s infamous 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision.

Who was the first black person to serve as a Supreme Court law clerk?

These LDF lawyers were assisted by a brain trust of legal scholars, including future federal district court judges Louis Pollack and Jack Weinstein, along with William Coleman, the first black person to serve as a Supreme Court law clerk.

Who was the first director of the Legal Defense Fund?

This campaign was conceived in the 1930s by Charles Hamilton Houston, then Dean of Howard Law School, and brilliantly executed in a series of cases over the next two decades by his star pupil, Thurgood Marshall–the man who became Legal Defense Fund’s first Director-Counsel.

Why was Brown v. Board of Education important?

This grouping of cases from Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Delaware was significant because it represented school segregation as a national issue, not just a southern one. Each case was brought on the behalf of elementary school children, involving all-Black schools that were inferior to white schools.

Who was the dean of Howard University in the Brown v. Board of Education case?

Their case eventually became one of five included in the landmark 1954 case, Brown v. Board of Education. Spottswood W. Robinson, III, who was born in 1916, taught law at Howard University, in Washington, DC, and eventually became dean of the school. He made his mark on the history of Brown v.

What was the Bolling case?

Although Bolling is historically considered one of the Brown v. Board of Education bundle cases, it was a different case due to the legal arguments.

What was the precedent in Ferguson v. Brown?

Ferguson ruling of the United States Supreme Court as precedent. The plaintiffs claimed that the "separate but equal" ruling violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. In 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v.

Who was the plaintiff in the Belton v. Gebhart case?

Ethel Louise Belton#N#Ethel Belton and six other adults filed suit on behalf of eight Black children against Francis B. Gebhart and 12 others (both individuals and state education agencies) in the case Belton v. Gebhart. The plaintiffs sued the state for denying to the children admission to certain public schools because of color or ancestry. The Belton case was joined with another very similar Delaware case, Bulah v. Gebhart, and both would ultimately join four other NAACP cases in the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Belton was born in 1937 and died in 1981.

Who was the Supreme Court Justice in Kansas?

Fatzer served as Kansas Supreme Court Justice from February 1949 to March 1956. Jack Greenberg. Jack Greenberg, who was born in 1924, argued on behalf of the plaintiffs in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case, and worked on the briefs in Belton v. Gebhart.

Who was the lead defendant in Bolling v. Sharpe?

C. Melvin Sharpe , acting as President of the Board of Education of the District of Columbia from 1948 to 1957, was named as the lead defendant in the case Bolling v. Sharpe. Earl Warren. Chief Justice Earl Warren, who was born in 1891, secured a unanimous decision in Brown v.

When was Brown vs Board of Education?

Brown v. Board of Education started off as five cases. In 1950 and 1951, lawsuits were filed in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia on behalf of Black elementary school students who attended legally segregated schools. Despite differing somewhat in the details, all alleged a violation ...

When did Brown v Board of Education get a second unanimous ruling?

Board of Education on how to actually implement desegregation. Instead, it called for further court discussions, after which it issued a second unanimous ruling in May 1955.

What did the court find about the 11 black children in the case?

In Delaware, the court found that the 11 Black children named in the case were entitled to attend the white school in their communities. And in Kansas, the court conceded that segregation had harmful effects. 4. The plaintiffs took great personal risks to be part of the case.

What states were segregated in Brown v. Board of Education?

An additional four states—Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and Wyoming —permitted local communities to do the same. Although Black and white schools were supposed ...

What did Warren say to his fellow justices?

Following oral argument, Warren told his fellow justices that the “separate but equal” doctrine should be overturned. He then went about wooing those still on the fence, telling one that a dissent would encourage resistance in the South.

What percentage of the funding did the Southern Black schools receive in 1954?

In 1954 southern Black schools received only 60 percent of the per-pupil funding as southern white schools, up from 45 percent in 1940. Many southern Black schools therefore lacked such basic necessities as cafeterias, libraries, gymnasiums, running water and electricity. 2. Brown v. Board of Education started off as five cases.

When did Marshall dismantle segregation?

Starting in 1950, however, he moved to dismantle segregation itself. In Brown v. Board of Education—just one of his 32 appearances before the Supreme Court—Marshall opined that state-imposed segregation was inherently discriminatory and emotionally damaging.

What was the name of the Supreme Court case that ended segregation by law in American public schools?

Gebhart, in one of the five cases that eventually became Brown v. Board of Education — the landmark Supreme Court case litigated by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc. (LDF) that ended segregation by law in American public schools. [1]

What high school did Ethel Brown go to?

May 17, 2020. Ethel Brown was born with a heart condition. But, because she was Black, she had no choice but to travel 20 miles each day to attend Howard High School, the only public high school in the state of Delaware that admitted Black students in 1950. Her mother, concerned about Ethel’s ability to make the trip, ...

Why was Ethel Brown treated as unworthy of any protection?

Despite Ethel’s status as a young girl with a severe medical condition, Ethel was treated as unworthy of any protection simply because of her race. Fed up, Mrs. Brown joined a group of Black parents bringing a lawsuit, Belton v. Gebhart, in one of the five cases that eventually became Brown v. Board of Education — the landmark Supreme Court case ...

Who is the historian behind the desegregation movement?

In her recent book, A Girl Stands at the Door, historian Rachel Devlin explores why so many Black women and girls were the voices behind the school desegregation movement. Students and their parent who initiated the landmark Civil Rights lawsuit 'Brown V Board of Education,' Topeka, Kansas, 1953, Pictured are, front row, from left, students, ...

Did Brown v. Board end racial bias?

Unfortunately, racial bias in schools did not end with Brown v. Board. COVID-19 has exposed fundamental educational inequities in public education that still have not been fully addressed over 66 years after the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board. Black students today are six times more likely than white students to attend a high-poverty school, [2] and nearly 75% of Black K-12 students attend racially segregated schools. Like high-poverty schools, racially-segregated schools are likely to have high levels of teacher turnover, inadequate facilities, and fewer classroom resources. [3] Educators are already predicting that the existing academic achievement gap will become more entrenched as distance learning continues, due to the digital divide and other existing economic and educational disparities.

Overview

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality. The court's decision partially overruled its 1896 decision Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring that the "separate but equal" notion was unconstitutional for American public schools and educational fa…

Background

District court case

Supreme Court arguments

Decision

Reaction and aftermath

Legal criticism and praise

Brown II