social studies writing a case brief: plessy v. fergusonand ... · both cases using the case brief...

© Copyright 2005 Maryland State Department of Education and Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture

SOCIAL STUDIESM LESSON 38 941

Writing a Case Brief: Plessy v. Ferguson andBrown v. Board of EducationMUSEUM CONNECTION: FAMILY and COMMUNITY

Purpose: In this lesson students will examine how the decision in Brown v. Board of Educationoverturned the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in the field of public education. They will analyzeboth cases using the case brief method. The students will understand the different interpreta-tions of the Fourteenth Amendment found in each case.

Time Frame: 1-2 class periods

Grade Leveland Content Area: Middle, Social Studies

Social Studies Standards:

USH 2.10.12.2 Analyze the basic provisions and impact of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments on the United States Constitution

POL 6.5.12.2 Analyze legislation, court decisions and key cases dealing with interpretations of the United States Constitution, including, but not limited to Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education

Social Studies VSC:

1.A.2.h (Grade 8) Evaluate the significance of the Civil War Amendments (13th, 14th and 15th amendments) and how they expanded protections in the Bill of Rights

1.C.2.b (Grade 8) Explain the protections and provisions of the Civil War Amendments (13th, 14th and 15th amendments)

1.C.2.d (Grade 8) Describe methods that were used to deny civil rights to women, African Americans and Native Americans, such as Jim Crow laws

Reading and English Language Arts VSC:

1.E.4.a (Grade 8) Identify and explain the main idea or argument

1.E.4.b (Grade 8) Identify and explain information directly stated in the text

1.E.4.c (Grade 8) Draw inferences and/or conclusions and make generalizations

1.E.4.d (Grade 8) Confirm, refute, or make predictions and form new ideas

Objectives:

• Students will describe the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment.

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SOCIAL STUDIESMLESSON 38

• Students will analyze the principle of “equal protection” as decided in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson.

• Students will analyze the shift in interpretation of the “equal protection clause” as seen inthe case of Brown v. the Board of Education.

VOCABULARY AND CONCEPTS

Appellate jurisdiction – The authority of appellate courts to hear appeals of lower court decisions is called appellate jurisdiction.

De facto segregation – De facto segregation results from residential housing patterns andother conditions rather than by law.

De jure segregation – De jure segregation imposed by law.

Due Process Clause – Found in the 5th and 14th Amendments, the Due Process Clauserequires the government to treat people fairly.

Equal Protection Clause – The Equal Protection Clause is the section of the 14thAmendment that prohibits states from denying certain groups the same rights as themajority of citizens.

Integration – The incorporation of individuals or groups as equals into a society or organization is called integration.

Jim Crow laws – Jim Crow laws are laws or policies, enacted first by Tennessee in the1870s and then throughout the South, which discriminated against African Americans,including the constitutional requirement of separate schools and accommodations. Theenforced racial segregation of the Jim Crow era lasted from the end of Reconstruction in1877 into the 1950s, when boycotts and other forms of protest forced the country to changethe unequal treatment of African Americans.

Original jurisdiction – Original jurisdiction returns the authority of the court to hear theoriginal or initial case.

Petitioner – The party who appeals a lower court decision is called the Petitioner.

Plessy v. Ferguson – Decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896, Plessy v. Fergusonupheld an 1890 Louisiana statute that mandated racially segregated but equal railroad car-riages for black and white passengers. The “separate but equal” ruling of the Court wasused to enforce patterns of segregation throughout the nation until 1954, when theSupreme Court unanimously ruled that “separate educational facilities are inherentlyunequal” in Brown v. Board of Education.

Precedent – A precedent is a decision on which later decisions or actions are based.

Respondent – The party against whom an appeal is brought is called the Respondent.

Segregation – Segregation is the separation of people based solely on race, gender, or affil-


SOCIAL STUDIESLESSON 38 943M

iation; it refers to the policy or practice of compelling groups of people to live apart fromothers, go to separate schools, use separate social facilities, etc.

“Separate but equal” – Separate but equal was the precedent set in Plessy v. Ferguson thatallowed states to provide different facilities for different races.

Supreme Court – Considered the court of last resort, the Supreme Court is the highestcourt in the federal judicial system.

Writ of certiorari – An order from the Supreme Court requiring the lower court to preparethe record of the case for its review is called a writ of certiorari. A petitioner can ask theSupreme Court to review a case under a writ of certiorari. If at least four Justices vote infavor of it, then certiorari is granted.

MATERIALS

FOR THE TEACHER:

Teacher Resource Sheet 1 – Photograph: Dallas, Texas, 1952Teacher Resource Sheet 2 – Photograph: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1959Teacher Resource Sheet 3 – Case Brief for Plessy v. FergusonTeacher Resource Sheet 4 – Case Brief for Brown v. Board of Education

FOR THE STUDENT:

Student Resource Sheet 1 – Segregation in the SouthStudent Resource Sheet 2 – Fourteenth AmendmentStudent Resource Sheet 3 – Case Study Format SheetStudent Resource Sheet 4 – Case Brief WorksheetStudent Resource Sheet 5 – Plessy v. FergusonStudent Resource Sheet 6 – Brown v. Board of Education

RESOURCES

PUBLICATIONSCenter for Civic Education. We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution (Middle SchoolEdition). Calabasas, California, 1988.

Christian, Charles M. Black Saga: The African American Experience, A Chronology. New York:Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995.

Cray, Ed. Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Gerlach, Ronald, and Lynn Lamprecht. Teaching About the Law. Cincinnati, Ohio: The W. H.Anderson Company, 1975.

Hall, Kermit L., James W. Ely, and Joel B. Grossman, eds.. The Oxford Companion to the

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Supreme Court of the United States New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Hine, Darlene, et al. The African-American Odyssey. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2000.

Patrick, John J. The Young Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Travis, Cathy. Constitution Translated for Kids. Dayton, Ohio: Oakwood Publishing, 2001.

Williams, Juan. Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary. New York: Random House,1998.

WEB SITESAmerican Bar Association http://www.abanet.org

FindLaw http://www.findlaw.com

Oyez: Supreme Court Multimediahttp://www.oyez.com/oyez/frontpage

United States Supreme Court http://www.supremecourtus.gov

TEACHER BACKGROUND

The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) affirmed the “sepa-rate but equal” doctrine, validating a practice that had been going on for decades. TheNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), established in 1909by an integrated group of activists, was vital in the fight to eliminate segregation—the sep-aration of the races in all aspects of living (transportation, accommodations, education, etc.).

From Plessy v. Ferguson to Brown v. Board of Education (the 1954 case that reversed the “sep-arate but equal” doctrine and led to the desegregation of America’s public schools), the roadwas far from easy. A battery of dedicated civil rights lawyers pursued almost every aspectof the law to identify a successful strategy to fight segregation, and for many years, dedicat-ed scholars developed firm evidence of societal harm produced by the practice. In addition,there were hundreds of brave men and women who offered themselves and their unique cir-cumstances as test cases before the courts.

Among the Brown decision’s greatest champions was Charles Hamilton Houston, dean ofHoward University Law School, who taught many students at Howard to think in terms of“righting civil wrongs.” After training a cadre of lawyers who would dedicate their lives to civil



rights, Houston left Howard University Law School to work for the NAACP. It was at theNAACP that Houston created a team of lawyers who would effectively use the legal system to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson. Houston’s most famous student and protégé was Thurgood Marshall.

Marshall had worked with Houston on several research projects related to segregation in theSouth. He would eventually help Houston create the NAACP’s Legal Defense and EducationFund, Inc., better known as the Legal Defense Fund (LDF). The Legal Defense Fund staffsoon included lawyers such as Constance Baker Motley and Jack Greenberg. The LDF strat-egy was to focus attention on the “separate but equal” doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson. It wasbelieved that many of the nation’s citizens, particularly those outside the South, were eagerto repair the damage wrought by centuries of bigotry and racial segregation. The strategyincluded an attack on the “separate but equal” doctrine as applied to public education.Houston and his colleagues believed that, if they demanded equal schools, southern stateswould respond by integrating public schools because they would not have the necessaryfunds to establish and maintain black schools that were equal to white schools. It wasassumed that black students in integrated schools would gain the opportunities they neededfor success in American society. The NAACP also decided to use the Fourteenth Amendment,a Civil War Amendment that guaranteed to citizens “the equal protection of the laws,” as abasis for its arguments to end segregation. The members of the LDF—Houston, Marshall,Motley, Greenberg, etc.—believed that “by denying African Americans equal educationalinstitutions the southern states would be in defiance of the U.S. Constitution.”

The Road to Brown

In the 1930s, the NAACP led the fight to equalize salaries of black and white teachers. Onecase involved an Anne Arundel County (Maryland) principal, Walter Mills, who desiredequal pay for all teachers, regardless of race; the NAACP was successful in this case. In 1938,the NAACP supported Lloyd Gaines, an African American student, who wanted to attendthe University of Missouri Law School. After being denied admission, Gaines went to court.On appeal from a lower court decision, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that Gaines couldattend a neighboring state’s law school at the expense of the University of Missouri LawSchool. On appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the NAACP successfully argued Gaines’scase; the justices ruled that the University of Missouri Law School had to accept him as astudent. Gaines, however, never took advantage of the legal decision handed down on hisbehalf.

In another case involving the desegregation of public colleges, Sipuel v. Board of Regents ofUniversity of Oklahoma (1948), the U.S. Supreme Court using the Fourteenth Amendment assupport, ruled that the University of Oklahoma was obligated to provide a legal education forAda Sipuel. Another Oklahoma case involved George McLaurin, a graduate student in his six-ties who was admitted to the University but forced to sit in special seats where no one else sat.The Court found this “segregation” of a student to be unacceptable and unconstitutional.

Many lesser-known state court cases argued by the NAACP are an integral part of the “road

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to Brown.” In fact, prior to the Brown decision, several school districts had complained ofgross material inequities between black and white schools. Rigorous research verified racialinequality in schools separated by race. For example, schools attended by African Americanchildren in Clarendon County, South Carolina, were substantially inferior to those provid-ed for white students.

Much of the credit for the NAACP’s convincing arguments before the nation’s courts wasdue to research by noted psychologist Kenneth Clark. Clark had performed a series of testswith students that showed conclusively that segregation was a badge of inferiority and thusharmed the personalities of black school children. Presented with the statistics and resultsof Clark’s research and other expert testimony, the U.S. Supreme Court could not ignore theinequities and false claims of a segregated society.

LESSON DEVELOPMENT

1. Motivation: Display Teacher Resource Sheets 1 and 2, Photo: Dallas, Texas, 1952, andPhoto: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1959. Distribute Student Resource Sheet 1, Segregationin the South. Read the selection aloud while the students follow along. Ask: Based on thephotographs and the materials read, what was life (or race relations) like in the 1950s?Why do you think this situation existed?

2. Ask students the following questions for background information:What was the purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment? (If students are not familiar withthis amendment give them Student Resource Sheet 2, Fourteenth Amendment. Reviewthe main clauses of the amendment: the Privileges and Immunities Clause, the DueProcess Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause.)

What were Jim Crow laws? (Record student answers on the chalkboard.) If students donot know this term, write the definition on the board.

3. Distribute Student Resource Sheet 3, Case Study Format Sheet. Read the descriptions foreach section of the case brief.

4. Explain that the entire class will work together to write the first case brief. This will serveas a model for students. • Distribute Student Resource Sheet 4, Case Brief Worksheet.

• Students should read the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in either We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution (page 113) or on Student Resource Sheet 5.

• Through a class discussion, the students will complete the case brief.

Note: Teacher could use Teacher Resource Sheet 4 as a guide. Readings about the casesfrom one of the Web sites could be substituted for the Plessy v. Ferguson case.

5. Assessment:

• Students should read Brown v. Board of Education in either We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution (pages 113-114) or Student Resource Sheet 6.

• Distribute Student Resource Sheet 4, Case Brief Worksheet.



• Students will then write their case brief of Brown v. Board of Education.

Note: Teacher could use Teacher Resource Sheet 5 as a guide. Readings about the casesfrom one of the Web sites could be substituted for the Brown v. Board of Education case.

6. Closure: Leaders in the Civil Rights Movement used a variety of tactics such as publicdemonstrations, sit-ins, marches, and lawsuits to protest discrimination. Why do youthink the NAACP focused on the courts instead of other methods?

THOUGHTFUL APPLICATIONS

• Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation in public education. De juresegregation was declared unconstitutional, but segregation still exists today in the form of de facto segregation. Students should research and cite examples of segregation that exists today.

• Students could write case briefs on one of the following cases that relate to school desegregation: Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Board of Education (1971), Adams v. Richardson (1973), Milliken v. Bradley (1974), or Missouri v. Jenkins (1995).

LESSON EXTENSIONS

• The Reginald F. Lewis Museum’s exhibits in the “Strength of the Mind” gallery trace the history of education for African Americans. That history parallels the legal course through the 14th Amendment, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Brown v. Board of Education. How do the museum’s exhibits clarify for you the impact of complex legal decisions on African Americans and the general population? What individual and community efforts does the museum use to document this story?

• Read the biography of Thurgood Marshall written by Juan Williams.

• Research information on one of the following members of the NAACP Legal Defense Team: John Scott, James M. Nabrit, Jr., Spottswood W. Robinson III, Constance Baker Motley, Frank D. Reeves, Jack Greenberg, Louis L. Redding, U. Simpson Tate, or George E. C. Hayes.

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SOCIAL STUDIESLESSON 38 953Teacher Resource Sheet 3M


Case Brief

I. Title: Plessy v. Ferguson 163 U.S. 537 (1896)

II. Facts of the case: In the 1890s, the State of Louisiana had a law that required that Whites and African Americans ride in separate railroad passenger cars. Severalpeople in New Orleans wanted to challenge the law. Homer Plessy took a seat inthe “Whites only” passenger car, and when he refused to leave, he was arrested.

III. Issue (legal): Is the Louisiana law that requires segregation on the trains a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges and Immunities Clause andEqual Protection Clause?

IV. Argument(s): The petitioner argued that the Louisiana law was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and Privileges and Immunities Clause.

V. Decision: The Supreme Court declared that the Louisiana law was not in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Because both races had equal facilities, no discrimination existed.

VI. Impact: The decision in the Plessy case legalized the “separate but equal” doctrine,which contributed to an increase in segregation especially in the South.

SOCIAL STUDIESLESSON 38 955Teacher Resource Sheet 4M


Case Brief

I. Title: Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954)

II. Facts of the Case: Linda Brown, a third grade student, could not be enrolled in anelementary school that was in her neighborhood. She had to travel across town toa school that was designated for African American children. Her parents and 12other families sued the school district. The United States District Court ruled infavor of the Kansas law because the schools were equal. With the assistance of theNAACP, the Browns appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

IIII Issue (legal): Is the Kansas law that permits separate schools for black and whitechildren a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause?

IV. Argument(s): The petitioner argued that the Kansas law was a violation of theFourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

V. Decision: The Supreme Court agreed that segregation of white and black childrenin public schools has a detrimental effect upon black children, an impact that isgreater when it has the sanction of law. “We conclude that in the field of publiceducation the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educationalfacilities are inherently unequal.”

VI. Impact: The decision in the Brown case overturned the Plessy decision and the “sep-arate but equal” doctrine in public education.

SOCIAL STUDIESLESSON 38 957Student Resource Sheet 1M


Student Resource Sheet 1

Segregation in the South

Blacks in the American South, “could not use the same rest rooms, drinkingfountains or telephone booths; they could not eat in the same restaurants,sleep in the same hotel, be treated in the same hospitals; or be transported to ahospital in an ambulance which, on other occasions, was used for whites.”

In motion picture houses, black patrons entered by separate entrances andwere confined to the balcony. “They could not use the same public parks,playgrounds, beaches, golf courses or athletic stadiums, even though the facil-ities were supported by public funds. They could not use the same readingroom or even the same books in a public library.”

Their children attended segregated schools, and were offered only “substan-dard school facilities and inferior teaching at grossly less cost than at whiteschools.” They rode buses for hours to crowded schools, while nearby schoolsfor whites had empty desks….

From birth to burial—even the cemeteries were segregated—black people inthe former states of the Confederacy and the border states beyond lived sepa-rate and unequal lives.

From Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren, by Ed Cray (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997), p. 279.



Fourteenth Amendment

©Copyright 2004 MSDE/Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture

38-13


Fourteenth Amendment

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Source: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 1

Section 1: Anyone born in the U.S., or given citizenship by the United States, is a citizen of the United States and citizens of the state where they live. States cannot make or enforce any laws that limit the rewards or protections of any citizen of the United States. No state can take away any citizen’s life, freedom, or belongings without proper use of the law. Every person is given the same protection under the law.

Source: Travis, Cathy. Constitution Translated for Kids. Dayton, Ohio: Oakwood Publishing, 2001.

UNLESS THERE IS SOME EDUCATIONAL REASON FOR THE LOWER BLOCK OF TEXT, RECOMMEND DELETING IT AS IT IS A POOR INTERPRETATION OF THE MEANING OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT.

Case Study Format Sheet

I. Name of the case:

In this section record the name of the case andthe citation if available.

II. Facts of the case:

In this section the basic facts of the case shouldbe written:

a. Who was involved in the case? b. What happened? c. How did the lower court decide on the

case? (Optional)

III. Issue

In this section the issue should be written as aquestion. What was the legal issue that had tobe decided?

IV. Arguments (Petitioner & Respondent)

In this section the following should be written:

a. What were the arguments for thePetitioner?

b. What precedents were cited? c. What were the arguments for the

Respondent? (If available.)

V. Decision

In this section the following should be written:

a. What was the decision of the SupremeCourt?

b. What rationale was given?

VI. Impact of the court ’s decision

In this section the following should be written: What is the significance of this case?


© Copyright 2005 Maryland State Department of Education and Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture©Copyright 2004 MSDE/Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture

Case Study Format Sheet

I. Name of the case: In this section record the name of the case andthe citation if available.

II. Facts of the case:

In this section the basic facts of the case shouldbe written:

a. Who was involved in the case?b. What happened?c. How did the lower court decide on the

case? (Optional)

III. Issue In this section the issue should be written as aquestion. What was the legal issue that had tobe decided?

IV. Arguments (Petitioner & Respondent)

In this section the following should be written:a. What were the arguments for the

Petitioner?b. What precedents were cited?c. What were the arguments for the

Respondent? (If available.)

V. Decision In this section the following should be written:a. What was the decision of the Supreme

Court?b. What rationale was given?

VI. Impact of thecourt’s decision

In this section the following should be written:What is the significance of this case?

SOCIAL STUDIESLESSON 38963 Student Resource Sheet 4a M


Case Brief Worksheet

©Copyright 2004 MSDE/Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History andCulture


Case Brief Worksheet

I. Title: ____________________________________________________

II. Facts of the Case:__________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

III. Issue (stated as a question): ________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

IV. Arguments of the Petitioner & the Respondent: _______________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

SOCIAL STUDIESLESSON 38 964Student Resource Sheet 4bM


_______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

V. Decision of the court:______________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

VI. Impact of the court’s decision:_____________________________

_______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

©Copyright 2004 MSDE/Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History andCulture


________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

V. Decision of the court:______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

VI. Impact of the decision:_____________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________



Plessy v. Ferguson163 U.S. 537 (1896)

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1868. Thisamendment defined citizenship and provided protections to the newly freedslaves. “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privi-leges or immunities of citizens of the United States…nor deny to any personwithin its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

During the 1880s, many states passed laws that separated Whites and AfricanAmericans in public facilities. These laws were known as Jim Crow laws.

In 1890, the State of Louisiana required railroad companies to provide separatebut equal passenger cars for Whites and African Americans. Many AfricanAmerican leaders wanted to challenge the law because they believed it violatedthe Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Homer Plessy was select-ed as the test case to challenge the law,. He purchased a ticket to ride on thetrain and took a seat in the “Whites Only” car. When he refused to move to thecar provided for black passengers, he was arrested.

After losing in the Louisiana courts, the case was appealed to the UnitedStates Supreme Court. The Court had to determine if the Louisiana law violatedthe Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

In a 7-to-1 decision, the Court ruled in favor of the State of Louisiana, con-cluding that the Fourteenth Amendment was not intended to force the inter-mingling of the races. Because each race was provided equal facilities by therailway, no discrimination had occurred.

Justice John Marshall Harlan, the lone dissenter, wrote: “Our Constitution iscolor-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respectof civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. In my opinion,..the judg-ment this day rendered will, in time, prove to be quite as pernicious as thedecision made by this tribunal in the Dred Scott case.”



Brown v. Board of Education347 U.S. 483 (1954)

During the 1880s, many states passed laws that separated Whites and AfricanAmericans in public facilities. These laws were known as Jim Crow laws. After theUnited States Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, more restrictive measureswere taken by states to further separate the races.

The legal defense team for the NAACP designed a plan to coordinate cases to chal-lenge the laws that separated African American children and white children in schools.

In Kansas, a statute permitted cities to maintain separate schools for black and whitechildren. The city of Topeka maintained separate school facilities for children at theelementary school level. There were 18 elementary schools for white students and 4 forblack students.

Linda Brown was a third grade African American student who had to attend MonroeElementary School, which was across town. She was not allowed to attend the schoolfor while children that was nearby. In 1950, her parents attempted to enroll her in theneighborhood school. After being refused, her father, Oliver Brown, took the admis-sion paperwork to NAACP attorneys. Twelve other families from Topeka also filedsuit. The United States District Court for the District of Kansas denied relief to theplaintiffs, relying on the “separate but equal” doctrine of Plessy. The federal courtfound that the facilities of the schools were equal, therefore no discrimination hadoccurred. Plaintiffs appealed their case to the United States Supreme Court.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund team also had coordinated companion cases fromSouth Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The appellantsclaimed that the laws segregating children in schools violated the FourteenthAmendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The lawyers for the appellants also claimedthat the schools were not equal and that the impact of segregation had a negativeimpact on the lives of the African American children.

John W. Davis, a lawyer from South Carolina, argued on behalf of the school districtsbefore the Supreme Court. Thurgood Marshall argued on behalf of Oliver Brown andthe other petitioners. “Black and White children,” Marshall told the court, “in Virginiaand South Carolina—and I have seen them do it—they play in the streets together,they play on their farms together, they go down the road together, they separate to goto school, they come out of school and play ball together. They have to be separated inschool....If they go to elementary and high school [together] the world will fall apart.”

SOCIAL STUDIESLESSON 38968 Student Resource Sheet 6 M


On May 17, 1954, the Court handed down its decision. Chief Justice Earl Warrenwrote the opinion of a unanimous Court:

To separate [children] in grade and high school from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone....

We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of “separate by equal” has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs…are…deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

The decision in the Brown case had overturned the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. The doctrine of “separate but equal” was discredited and found unconstitutional inpublic education.

social studies writing a case brief: plessy v. fergusonand ... · both cases using the case brief...

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