Brown V. Board of Education: a Milestone in American History

Imagine having to walk ten miles in the snow just to get to school in the morning when there is a school one mile away from your house, how about having to use a textbook that has not been updated for years. That is exactly what it felt like to be an African American child during times of segregation in our country. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was a milestone in American history, as it began the long process of racial integration, starting with schools. Segregated schools were not equal in quality, so African-American families prompted the fight for equality. Brown v. Board stated that public schools must integrate. This court decision created enormous controversy throughout the United States.

Without this case, the United States may still be segregated today. It was a turning point in history because, even though there is still racism, Brown v. Board of Education alerted people that what they were doing was wrong, and changed the way we felt about different races and colors. Even though nothing changed overnight, where we are today is a result of that case. Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas is the Supreme Court case that ended racial segregation in public education. Brown vs the Board of Education was a collaboration of five total cases that challenged the separate but equal segregation in public schools. It all began when the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) supported thirteen parents that were suing the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas.

In 1951, Linda Brown applied to an "all white" school. However, she was denied because of her race (African American) and was forced to go to a school much farther from her house, which was all black and was also not given the same opportunities as white students had. For example, the white students were provided with bus rides, but the black children did not receive transportation. Her father, Oliver Brown, was outraged and went to the NAACP for help. They then told him about Thurgood Marshall, the top lawyer at the NAACP and Brown went to him. Marshall ended up taking this case all the way to the Supreme Court, where he argued that separate but equal wasn't actually equal and that African American schools were in worse conditions than white schools. And sure enough, after many cases, like Allen v. Wright, Robert v. City of Boston, and Murray v. Maryland made similar arguments, Chief Judge Earl Warren, led his fellow justices into the unanimous vote that separate wasn't equal, and that Brown in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, wins. The attorneys that represented the Board of Education encouraged segregation. They were preparing the black students for the segregation that they would experience in everyday society. Soon after, Linda Brown was finally able to attend the school she first applied to, Topeka High School.

As a future teacher, this case is, personally, one of the most important cases. I am 100% on Brown's side because no person(s) should ever be segregated for their race. One's color does not define them. Before 1954, southern states separated schools between the white and black students. These schools were supposed to be equal, but they were not fairly structured. The white schools had better teachers, more facilities, textbooks, and libraries. How is this fair? I have seen several successful black doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. But if weren't for the Brown family, those black doctors, lawyers, and teachers may not have had the same opportunity to get that degree. There are several reasons why I agree with Brown's side. The argument that persuaded me to agree with the Brown's was that  Brown's attorneys argued that the operation of separate schools, based on race, was harmful to African American children. If blacks are given terrible education systems, how are they going to get into college? Studies show that residential segregation has been shown to contribute to violence and have harmful consequences for minority groups. Without a job, they will most likely live in poverty, which increases the crime rate because they don't have access to sufficient economic opportunity, forcing them to live by any dangerous means necessary or even committing suicide due to unemployment. Thus, racial segregation can lead to higher crime rates, fewer jobs filled, and a higher suicide rate, which is completely discriminatory.

To conclude, the Brown vs Board of Education was a milestone in American history, as it began the long process of racial integration. From going from segregated schools to where we are today is a huge difference and if it weren't for the Brown family, who knows where the education system would be at in terms of segregation, making it one of the most important supreme court cases in history. We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

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