1. Objective 30D Understand the application and significance of the equal protection clause of the 14 th amendment, including its impact on legalized segregation and affirmative action, including, but not limited to Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896), Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954), and Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke (1978)

2. Katie Wood, Lynn Pruneau, Christie Mott Period 2

3. Equal Protection Clause of the 14 th Amendment “No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

4. Continued……… It was meant to benefit newly freed slaves. Over time it came to mean states and governments cannot draw unreasonable distinction between any classes of persons.

5. Plessy vs. Ferguson The equal protection clause was not violated because the African Americans were being provided with separate facilities equal to those provided for whites.

6. Plessy Continued…. The court ruled that “separate but equal” facilities for different races are acceptable.

8. Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke Alan Bakke was a white male that was denied admission to medical school at Univ. Cal. Davis. 16 out of 100 seats were set aside for non-white students So he sued because of reverse discrimination and he won which gave him a place in the school.

9. Bakke Continued… The court ruled that affirmative action is acceptable but strict quotas are not.

11. Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka It was a court case disallowing separate public schools for whites and African American students.

12. Brown Continued…. The court ruled that it was unconstitutional to separate them from others of similar age and qualifications because of race. It was tearing apart the community and affecting their hearts and minds in an unhealthy way.

13. Brown Continued…… Separate education facilities are inherited unequally The court over ruled Plessy vs. Ferguson It holds “separate but equal” public schools are unconstitutional.