Brown v Board Supreme Court Cases review

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

The case was filed in February 1951. The U.S. District Court ruled against the plaintiffs but placed in the record its acceptance of the psychological evidence that African American children were adversely affected by segregation. These findings later were quoted by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1954 opinion.

Briggs v. Elliott

Court case in South Carolina that challenges "separate but equal" in Clarendon County

Davis, et. al. v. Davis, et. al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County

In April 1951, Barbara Rose Johns, a high school student in Farmville, Virginia, organized a student strike to protest poor school conditions. Four hundred fifty African American students from Moton High School participated in the two-week protest. The student strike committee requested assistance from the NAACP branch office in Richmond, Virginia. The students believed that the deplorable conditions at the school deprived them of equal educational opportunities. Moton had no gymnasium, cafeteria, infirmary or teachers restrooms, and the overflow of students was housed in an old school bus and three buildings covered in tar paper. Local parents had repeatedly sought improvements from the local school board without success.

Bolling v. Sharpe (1954)

Issue: DC schools are still segragated. The whites claim that the schools are separate but equal, but the blacks claim that their schools are significantly lesser quality education and environment Decision: Desegregation in place from now own. Segregation was a violation of the Equal protection clause

Brown et. al. v. The Board of Education of Topeka, et. al.Overview

Overview: In the fall of 1950 members of the Topeka, Kansas, Chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) agreed to again challenge the "separate but equal" doctrine governing public education. The strategy was conceived by the chapter president, McKinley Burnett, attorneys Charles Scott, John Scott, Charles Bledsoe, Elisha Scott, and NAACP chapter secretary Lucinda Todd. For a period of two years prior to legal action, Burnett had attempted to persuade Topeka school officials to integrate their schools. This lawsuit was a final attempt.

Belton v. Gebhart (Bulah v. Gebhart)

The final challenge to segregated schools in Delaware came by way of two separate cases with identical issues. One case developed in the suburb of Claymont and another in the rural community of Hockessin. Segregated Howard High School was a continual source of frustration for African American parents in suburban Claymont. Although their community had a well maintained school in a picturesque setting with spacious facilities, African American children could not, by law, attend the Claymont school. Instead they were transported daily on a twenty mile round trip to Howard High School located in an undesirable section of Willmington. Not only was the distance an adverse factor, class size, teacher qualifications in terms of advanced degrees, and the incomplete curriculum also angered African American parents. Students interested in vocational training courses had to walk several blocks to the run-down Carver annex, regardless of the weather.

Belton v. Gebhart (Bulah v. Gebhart)

The final challenge to segregated schools in Delaware, Judge Collin Seitz, in this case ruled that the "separate but equal" doctrine had been violated and that the plaintiffs were entitled to immediate admission to the white school in their communities. Although a victory for the named plaintiffs, his decision had not dealt the sweeping blow to segregation they had hoped for. The decision did not apply broadly throughout Delaware. This case would ultimately join four other NAACP cases in the Supreme Court ruling in Brown.

Brown et. al. v. The Board of Education of Topeka, et. al.

Their plan involved enlisting the support of fellow NAACP members and personal friends as plaintiffs in what would be a class-action suit filed against the Board of Education of Topeka Public Schools. A group of thirteen parents agreed to participate on behalf of twenty of their children. Each plaintiff was to watch the paper for enrollment dates and take their child to the elementary school for white children that was nearest to their home. Once they attempted enrollment and were denied, they were to report back to the NAACP. This provided attorneys with the documentation needed to file a lawsuit against the Topeka School Board.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

This case was initiated by members of the local NAACP chapter in Topeka, Kansas. Thirteen parents volunteered to participate. In the summer of 1950, they took their children to schools in their neighborhoods and attempted to enroll them for the upcoming school year. All were refused admission. The children were forced to attend one of the four schools in the city for African Americans. For most, this involved traveling some distance from their homes. These parents filed suit against the Topeka Board of Education on behalf of their twenty children. Oliver Brown, a minister, was the first parent listed in the suit, so the case came to be named after him. Three local lawyers, Charles Bledsoe, Charles Scott and John Scott, were assisted by Robert Carter and Jack Greenberg of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

Davis, et. al. v. Davis, et. al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County

n May 1951, Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill from the local NAACP filed suit on behalf of one hundred seventeen students. The plaintiffs asked that the state law requiring segregated schools in Virginia be struck down. A three-judge panel at the U.S. District Court unanimously rejected the students' request stating, "We have found no hurt or harm to either race." The school board was ordered to proceed with plans to equalize the African American students' school. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling and ordered desegregation, white Virginians launched a campaign of massive resistance. The Board of Supervisors for Prince Edward County refused to appropriate any funds for the County School Board for the period 1959-1964, effectively closing the public schools rather than integrate them. The schools remainded closed for five years.