Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education

Introduction

Markedly, the Brown v. Board of Education case is one of the historical milestones that largely determined the direction of the American people both socially and politically.  The Supreme Court ruled the Brown case which marked the beginning of the end of segregation and racial discrimination in the United States. For a long time, black students had been segregated in public school where there were schools for the white people and those of the black people.  Before the ruling of the court, it was a law that black children should not attend the school of the white people. This was among the redundant laws that had been created in the 19th century and they needed to be changed through court proceedings and civil activism (Guinier, 2004).  Ever since the ruling was made, the case has had notable impacts on the American society. The objective of this paper is to explore various impacts that the case has had on American in regard to the social, political and economic orientation of the people

Review of the case

For more than sixty years before the Brown vs the Board case was filed, the American society had been dominated by racial segregation, a trend that had been enabled and created by the Plessy and Ferguson case of 1896. The case held that the segregation did not violate the constitution in regard to the Fourth Amendment. However, Plaintiffs in the Brown Vs the Board case which was filled in 1954 held that the so created system of segregation was a means that was used to perpetuate the discrimination of the Black people in regard to services, treatment and accommodation while still posing as a sober and acceptable social way of life (Wong & Nicotera, 2004).

This argument could be confirmed by large variations of quality of education between the white and black students.

Notably, segregation was a structural and scientific approach that was used by the white people to uphold and justify racism. It did affect not only the black children education but also had an adverse inverse impact on their cognitive and mental status. Noting that America was in the height of the cold war with the Soviet Union, the justice system and the American society new that segregation was a vice that did not only affect the cohesion of the American society but also it impacted the international image of the country.  In this case, the American society was on trial both at home and internationally. It is from these different arguments that helped the case to take shape and eventually impact the American society.

Impacts of the Brown vs Board of education case

The ruling of the Brown vs Board of education was received differently in different part of the country and this consequently affected its implication, criticism and acceptance.  Despite been received is most parts of the country, some region found the ruling rather suppressive to their way of life, and they rejected it. For instance, in Virginia massive resistance movement erupted and which preferred to close the schools and associated facilities rather than desegregating them. Down in the South, the by then-Attorney General of Texas organised campaigns to create self-calculated legal obstacles that will prevent the implementation of this law in that region. The governor of Arkansas was not left behind Orval Faubus in the protest as he deployed the national guards of the state to block black students from entering the desegregated.

In some states, the impact of the ruling showed a mixed feeling and response based on the perception of the people. For instance, in Florida, the legislature signed a resolution which denounced the position of the Supreme Court and declared it null and void. However, the by then governor of the state LeRoy Collins,  though supporting the position of the protest felt that the move by the  Florida legislature was trying to overturn the decision of the court and thus it must be done using the rule of law.

Despite the mixed reaction of the American society, the Brown and Board of Education case marked the turning point in the history of the race relations and discrimination in the United States. The ruling had a ripple impact not only on the education system but to the whole societal construct in regard to racial relations.

In a review of the education system in regard to racial relation, the ruling has impacted the American education system in various ways, and the accrued impact is dependent on the point of view of an individual. Notably, all can agree that the black students achievement since the ruling over sixty years ago has improved nationwide and in the state level. However, it is worth noting that the gap between the white and black students remain. The black students perform about 25% of an average white student a situation which is further translated to the labour market. Despite this gap, it’s true to assert that the issue of separate but in equal schools all ended with the Brown case. Markedly, before the ruling, there was a large deviation between the capital values of the schools for the whites compared to those of the black people. This can be illustrated by a review of the teacher-student ratio in both schools.  The teacher-student ratio of the white schools was 1:28 and that of the black students’ schools was 1:47. On the other hand, black students walked to school whereas the white students were transported.  Black’s students cleaned their schools while the white students had janitors. These are just a few illustrations that show the capital deviation in school before Brown ruling. Since the ruling people become more knowledgeable about the challenges and problems posed by social class and racism in school and this has contributed to the extensive change in schools orientation in regard to the capital value.  Notably, the average spending on both black and white students is almost equal in the modern days.

Correspondently, since the Brown Vs Board of Education case, the society has realised the essence of integration in the education system. In modern days due to the effort of the plaintiffs of the Brown case and their accrued experiments, the society has come to much about the impact of social separation and segregation to the performance of students and the education system at large.  Notably, children from lower social class who are segregated develop a feeling of inferiority which affects their performance and result in a change of behaviour. Change of behaviour of the part of students can be destructive them and also the whole system.

Though the initial intention of the case was to eliminate segregation and racial separation in schools, a wider impact can be reviewed.  The ruling of the Supreme Court helped illuminate the political and the social position of the black people to both the national and the international audience.  The whole nation became focused on the issue of black subjugation in a manner not seen before in American history (Bowe, Ball, & Gold, 2017).  The ability of the case to highlight the vivid nation’s racial caste system resulted in sprouting of a wave of freedom rides that helped in the disintegration of a racially based system whose only objective was to suppress the people of colour by use of systemic approach with the ability to camouflage within the rule of law. The case also spurred civil rights legislation efforts that ran from 1957 to 1968 which helped to desegregate and undo the national legal support for the race-based status.  Many scholars agree that none of the civil movement efforts, activities and legislation could have happened without the spark that was created by the Brown v. Board of education case.

The impact of the case on the people can also be viewed in regard to the parameters of success on it purported mission which was basically to undo segregation in school. Notably, a review of modal publication education today indicate that segregation persists in most of the public school.  Due to the pressure that was extended to the education system by the case, the system shifted in such a manner that it is hard to detect segregation in modern public school. It is no longer the system and the legislation that have the gap, but rather it is the change of the actual intention of the case. Notably, the case was intended to reduce separation by ensuring that all schools receive equal distribution of resources and that black students are allowed to go or choose a school of their choice regardless of their colour. However, this perception has gradually changed, and black students are forced to attend schools with a certain number of white students. The system might appear to be doing the right thing, but for sure black children in modern schools are more socio-economically and racially isolated since the ruling was made.    There always seen as inferior by most of the white students a factor that suggests that the initial effort of teaching students to denounce racism requires to be reviewed.

Conclusion

The desegregation efforts that was intended by Brown is far from finished. There are more than 200 cases involving schools desegregation that remain open in various federal courts. The fact that it has become rather difficult to solve some of the cases and the increased racial discrimination of black students in the last one decade is an indication that is a negative impact that has precipitated from the initial ruling of the Brown and Board of education. As observed by President Obama 10 years ago, segregated schools still remain inferior six decades after the ruling and it can be used to explain the gap between the white and black students in the today society. However, in a more general perspective, it is true to assert that the ruling largely impacted the American society regarding racial separation and disaggregation and Brown actual intention should continue to be illuminated both in social and political level.

References

Bowe, R., Ball, S. J., & Gold, A. (2017). Reforming education and changing schools: Case           studies in policy sociology. Routledge.

Guinier, L. (2004). From racial liberalism to racial literacy: Brown v. Board of Education and the             interest-divergence dilemma. Journal of American History, 91(1), 92-118.

Hanushek, E. A., Kain, J. F., & Rivkin, S. G. (2009). New evidence about Brown v. Board of      Education: The complex effects of school racial composition on achievement. Journal of     Labor Economics, 27(3), 349-383.

Wong, K. K., & Nicotera, A. C. (2004). Brown v. Board of Education and the Coleman Report: Social science research and the debate on educational equality. Peabody Journal of           Education, 79(2), 122-135.