Separate but Equal From Plessy v Ferguson 1896 To Brown v Board of Education 1954

Reconstruction After civil war 4.5 ml blacks demanded to be treated equally - in turn North demanded the South do just that - reconstruction 13 th amendment outlawing slavery was to be acknowledged throughout the South - otherwise states' rights still valid

Reconstruction While slavery was abolished South believed it was morally right and did everything it could to deny blacks any rights Struggle over future of South fought against a backdrop of increasing civil violence and attacks against blacks Jim Crow laws

Reconstruction Black Codes - statutes which were supposed to give the freedmen inalienable rights In practice denied them all but the most basic rights ie denied right to leave employment slavery by another name No provisions made for black education in South - vagrancy law brought in meant blacks found it difficult to travel

Reconstruction 14 th amendment established right of all citizens including blacks in the South to be equal before the law 15 th amendment - right of citizens to vote irrespective of colour, yet South went on to implement codes 1876 election most corrupt in US history Hayes elected by blatantly fraudulent means - result white supremacy in south and segregationist policies

Plessy v Ferguson In 1892 Homer Plessy, 1/8 Black took a seat in “whites only carriage” of a train and refused to move – a deliberate act to test segregation in the courts Arrested and convicted for breaking Louisiana’s segregation laws – 1890 Separate Car Act Appealed claiming he had been denied equal protection under the law – 14 th amendment

Plessy v Ferguson

Supreme Court handed down its decision in May 1896 Ruled “separate but equal facilities” for whites and blacks did not violate the Constitution by 7-1 “the object of the 14 th amendment … could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color or … a commingling of the two races” – Henry Billings Brown

The Harlan Dissent “in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens” “In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law... the seeds of race hate planted under the sanction of law … will not mislead anyone or atone for the wrong this day done”

Brown and Harlan

Plessy v Ferguson Importance of the judgement is it established the “separate but equal” doctrine which became precedent As long as separate facilities for separate races were equal 14 th amendment was not violated Segregation laws across the south were maintained right up until the second half of the twentieth century

Plessy v Ferguson Segregation reigned across the south in Schools Transportation Restaurants and Public Houses Entry to sporting events Shops Barbers, Hairdressers

And so it continued … A war of 3 weapons 1. Appeal to courts 2. Political & economic pressure 3. Violence

Separate but Equal Revoked 1954 – segregation in schools was declared unconstitutional; separate but equal clause banished in famous judgement Argued: Dec. 8, 1952; Reargued: Dec. 7, 1953; Decided: May 17, 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka court votes 9-0

Brown v Board of Education Class Action suit filed in 1951 against Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas – driven by NAACP Called for school district to reverse its policy of racial segregation Separate elementary schools operated by Topeka under an 1879 law which permitted but did not require such segregated schools

Brown v Board of Education Several Cases combined into one Delaware – Belton v Gebhart Kansas – Brown v Board of Education South Carolina – Briggs v Elliot Virginia – Davis v County School Board of Prince Edward County Washington DC – Bolling v Melvin Sharpe

The need for 9 Warren appointed Chief Justice October 1953 Question of Judicial Restraint v Judicial Activism Court – an institution of liberty With difficulty of enforcement; need for 9 to overcome expected massive Southern opposition was crucial

Brown v Board of Education Question of whether the Constitution gave the Court the power to order an end to segregation For Warren a belief in inferiority of Blacks was only reason to uphold segregation Racial segregation was simply wrong No equality with segregation

Warren and Marshall

The Warren Judgment We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does...We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Enforcing Brown Brown was not simply about children and education but had far reaching social and ideological implications Brown did not abolish segregation in other public areas, such as restaurants and restrooms, nor did it place a time frame for implementation of the law. All deliberate speed

Enforcing Brown The challenge to desegregation - Rosa Parks incident in Alabama saw black boycott which lasted a full year Black question became central to US politics - embodied in personality of Martin Luther King; yet Presidents needed white southern politicians to pass legislation in Congress

Enforcing Brown Civil Rights Act was signed in 1957 – first racial legislation since reconstruction Superseded by stronger act in 1960 which protected rights of blacks to vote Non violent protest became norm & mass marches began as Blacks struggled to have laws of desegregation implemented

The Warren Court When Warren joined the Court in 1954 all the justices had been appointed by FDR and Truman, and all were committed New Deal Liberals They disagreed about the role that the courts should play in achieving liberal goals. The Court was split between two warring factions.

The Warren Court Frankfurter and Jackson argued for judicial self-restraint and insisted courts should defer to the policymaking prerogatives of the White House and Congress. Black and Douglas argued that the court should defer to Congress in matters of economic policy, but felt court should play a central role in upholding individual liberties

The Warren Court Judicial agenda in second half of 20 had moved from questions of property rights to those of individual liberties, Warren's belief that the judiciary must seek to do justice, placed him with the latter group Constitution as a document to protect individuals

Equal Rights

The Nine Warren BlackReed Frankfurter Douglas JacksonBurtonClarkMinton