Brown vs Board Essay

Submitted By Lauradelaney1
Words: 699
Pages: 3

Brown vs. the Board of Education

Brown vs. The Board of Education was a significant case in early 1950’s regarding racial segregation in the public school system. Segregation was the normal for the African Americans all over the United States of America. The black folks were inferior to the white and that needed to change for equality. This wasn’t thrown into action until a father fought for the rights of his young daughter. His passion and resolve helped to change this country forever. His steadfast work to change segregation in the school systems helped shape the country we live in today. Many African American children owe him some gratitude for his tireless work.
Linda Brown was a young black child in the third grade that had to walk a mile to and from school through a railroad switchyard to get to the black elementary school in Topeka, Kansas. The white elementary school was only seven blocks away from her home but because of the segregation she had to attend the colored public school. Linda’s father Oliver Brown tried to enroll her in the white school, But Linda was denied the right by the school principal. Oliver Brown decided he needed to take this to a man that was head of the Topeka’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to assist The Brown’s, his name was McKinley Burnett. The NAACP was keen to help the Brown’s due to wanting to challenge the segregated issue in the public school system. Several other black families decided to join the Brown’s. Shortly after the NAACP decided to try to put an end to the segregation in the schools in 1951. . (Cozzens)
The Browns case was heard by the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas from June 25th to the 26th in 1951. During the trial the NAACP argued that segregating the blacks from the whites would harm the colored children’s education and make them feel inferior to the white, making them inadequate. According to an expert witness Dr. Hugh W. Speer he stated, "...if the colored children are denied the experience in school of associating with white children, who represent 90 percent of our national society in which these colored children must live, then the colored child's curriculum is being greatly curtailed. The Topeka curriculum or any school curriculum cannot be equal under segregation.” (Speer)
The Board of Education brought up that fact that in other parts of the country, segregation in the school systems helped get black students ready for life as an African-American. They argued that the colored children were not being harmed by attending an only colored school, also testifying that several African American had achieved greatness and were very prosperous. They used Fredrick