Lesson 5: Equal Protection: RaceTopic: Does segregation in public schools deprive students of their right to equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment? Background: Brown v. Board of Education is one of the most important cases ever decided by the Supreme Court. It has had a profound effect upon race relations in America. For nearly one hundred years preceding Brown, the doctrine of "separate but equal" as announced by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson, contributed to the development of two very different public school systems, one for white children and the other for black. Only in theory could separate school systems result in the kind of segregation envisioned by Plessy. In practice, the schools were anything "but equal." And there is little dispute that black children have shouldered the burden of inequality. Although Brown had reached the Supreme Court by 1954, the real impact was not felt for several years. Most school systems were slow to embrace the philosophy of desegregation. Even today, many schools have failed to accomplish an end to segregation based on race. There are numerous reasons for this failure. For one thing, it is difficult if not impossible to legislate school desegregation. Scholars and pundits recognize that two types of segregation have occurred in public education. De jure segregation results from officially maintained or intentional segregation, such as where a law is enacted to purposefully keep schools segregated along racial lines. The statutory language at issue in Brown calling for separate facilities for blacks and whites, is a clear example of de jure segregation. More subtle instances can be found in zoning ordinances or the drawing of district lines. By virtue of Brown and its progeny, all laws that cause or result in segregation were declared invalid. The judicial remedies available after Brown have never had the far-reaching impact that was originally hoped for. De jure segregation remains the only kind of segregation for which legal redress can be sought. There are other less overt forms of segregation that no branch of government has the power to correct. Segregation caused by residential housing patterns and more recently, the shift from public to private education, is never susceptible to government interference. De facto segregation, the kind of segregation which results from the decisions of private citizens about how and where they want to live their lives, is immune from government intrusion. Any other finding would constitute a moral victory for some, but bring government perilously close to abridging basic constitutional rights of others. Not surprisingly, as de jure segregation has disappeared from the American landscape, de facto segregation has taken its place. This lesson explains Brown v. Board of Education, using the Project Legal method of analysis. Students engage in tasks that replicate several aspects of the case study method used in law school. Students will be introduced to new concepts involved in the study of legal precedent and gain a better understanding of judicial decision-making. Objectives: After applying the Project Legal method to a case-study analysis of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, students will be able to:
Materials: Handout 5A "Name the Cartoon" Handout 5B "Brown v. Board of Education: A Case-Study Analysis Parts 1 & 2" Handout 5C "The Brown Case Goes to the Supreme Court" Time Required: 1-2 class periods Procedures: Distribute Handout 5A "Name the Cartoon" Tell students to select a title for the cartoon that best expresses the meaning of the cartoon. Then have students explain their answers to the following questions.
Distribute Handout 5B Part 1 "Brown v. Board of Education: A Case-Study Analysis." After students have read and studied the fact pattern and completed the exercise, distribute part 2 of the Handout. After students have completed the entire exercise, review their answers to the questions on the Handout. Then have students explain their answers to the following questions.
Have students read the opinions and complete the exercise. Review the completed exercise with the class. Then have students explain their answers to the following questions.
Divide students into equal sized groups. Each group will design a poster of at least one page containing pictures and written slogans that either support or oppose the decision in Brown. A panel of students will determine which group produced the most effective poster. Further Enrichment: Based on multiple intelligence theory. Linguistic: Students should create hypothetical situations to demonstrate how the Brown ruling would apply in a variety of circumstances. Students should research the implementation decision known as Brown II and explain the major arguments. Logical/Mathematical: Students should review graphs or charts that give information on how long it took for schools to desegregate and determine if it was accomplished in accordance with the directive in Brown II to use "all deliberate speed." Students should brainstorm solutions for segregation of schools based on residential housing patterns and the shift from public to private schools. Intrapersonal: Students should conduct interviews with each other by asking a series of questions to determine how they feel about attending integrated and segregated schools. Interpersonal: Divide the class into groups of four students each. One student will serve as the observer and reflect on the interaction of the group as a whole. Each group should discuss whether they have ever felt inferior because they were treated differently based on their race, ethnic group, religion or national origin. Spatial: Students can prepare pictorial metaphors for the statements: integration is like picture. segregation is like picture. Kinesthetic: Students should use pantomime to describe a situation in which black people faced discrimination by being forced to use separate facilities. Musical: Play the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" and discuss how the song is related to the Brown decision. Students should select and play music that they feel indicates the mood of the various groups affected by the Brown decision.
Handout 5A: EQUAL PROTECTION: RACE NAME THE CARTOON TITLE:
Handout 5B: EQUAL PROTECTION: RACE
Brown v. Board of Education: A Case-Study AnalysisRead and study the fact situation below. At the time this case was presented, Plessy v. Ferguson (which we studied in a previous lesson) was considered the "law of the land."
Facts of the Case The following case began as four separate cases from the states of Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia and Delaware. They were decided together because they presented a common legal question. The states of Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia and Delaware passed laws that either permitted or required the Boards of Education in those states to maintain separate schools for black and white students. In each of these states, black students wanted the right to attend white public schools. The students argued that as citizens of the United States, they possessed this right under the Constitution and that state laws that allow for separate schools based on race should be declared unconstitutional. The lower courts concluded that the state laws did not violate the Constitution. In each case, the court decided that the schools provided for white students and the schools provided for black students were either equal or could be made equal. In such instances, it did not violate the constitutional rights of black students to maintain separate facilities. In 1954, the Supreme Court considered many arguments that were presented on both sides of the controversy and delivered the now famous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education. Before beginning the exercise, use the space below to summarize the facts of the case in your own words. Be sure to discuss Plessy v. Ferquson and how that case affected the lower court’s decisions. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Based on the facts you have just read, answer each of the following questions in the space provided. These questions are based on the actions, values and laws that are presented in the case.
The parties to the dispute in Brown v. Board of Education are: AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS v. BOARD OF EDUCATION
1. Actions Who is taking the action? ______________________________ ______________________________ What action have they taken? ______________________________ ______________________________ What phrases in the fact situation contain the actions taken by the students? ______________________________ ______________________________
2. Values Why did the students decide to bring a civil suit? ______________________________ ______________________________ What value do you think is reflected by the students in bringing the civil suit? ______________________________ ______________________________
1. Actions Who is taking the action? ______________________________ ______________________________ What action have they taken? ______________________________ ______________________________ What phrases in the fact situation contain the actions taken by the Board of Education and the state? ______________________________ ______________________________
2. Values Why did the states and the Boards of Education decide to create separate schools? ______________________________ ______________________________ What value do you think is reflected by the states and the Boards of Education in creating separate schools? ______________________________ ______________________________
3.Laws What is the legal basis for the students' civil suit? ______________________________ ______________________________ What amendment to the Constitution provides the legal basis for the students' civil suit? ______________________________ ______________________________ What do you think the amendment you cited means? ______________________________ ______________________________
How does the amendment apply to this case? ______________________________ ______________________________
3.Laws What is the legal basis for the Boards of Education decision to establish separate schools? ______________________________ ______________________________ What amendment to the Constitution provides the legal basis for the creation of separate schools? ______________________________ ______________________________ What do you think the amendment you cited means? ______________________________ ______________________________
How does the amendment apply to this case? ______________________________ ______________________________
4. Legal Values Conflict: Every legal case has certain laws and certain values that are in conflict. Based on the questions and answers above, state the legal values conflict presented in Brown v. Board of Education.
5. Formulating the Issue Question Every legal case raises one or more problems or issues that the courts must resolve or decide. When using the case study method, you need to state a complete issue question. A complete issue statement contains certain elements.
Based on all of the information you now have about the case, as well as the instructions outlined above, write a complete issue statement for Brown v. Board of Education.
6. Reasoning Each side in a legal case has an attorney to represent them. The attorney presents arguments that most strongly support the views of the side he/she represents. Use the actions, values and legal bases to develop an argument for each side in Brown v. Board of Education. State briefly in the space provided.
Argument for students: __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________
Argument for Boards of Education: __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________
Handout 5C: EQUAL PROTECTION: RACE The Brown Case Goes to the U.S. Supreme Court In 1954, the nine justices of the Supreme Court reviewed the arguments of the lower courts and handed down a unanimous decision. Below are portions of the lower court's opinion and the opinion of the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. Read both opinions and select the one you prefer. Opinion I We have found that the physical facilities, the curricula, courses of study, qualification of and quality of teachers, as well as other educational facilities in the two sets of schools are comparable. We conclude that in the maintenance and operation of the schools there is no willful, intentional or substantial discrimination in the matters referred to above between the colored and white schools. However, colored students rely on the argument that segregation in and of itself violates their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. As a lower court in the federal judicial system, we seek the answer to this constitutional question in the decisions of the Supreme Court and do not substitute our own views for the declared view of the Supreme Court. On numerous occasions the Supreme Court has been asked to overrule the Plessy case. This the Supreme Court has refused to do. We are therefore of the view that the Plessy case has not been overruled and that it preserves a segregated school system. Opinion II Our decision ... cannot turn on merely a comparison of [the] tangible factors in the Negro and white schools involved in each of the cases. We must look instead to the effect of segregation itself on public education ... We come 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 ... To separate [children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone. 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.
Activity In Opinion I, what value did the justices see as having greater importance in this case? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
Why did the justices decide in favor of the Board of Education? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
In Opinion II, what value did the justices see as having greater importance in this case? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
Why did the justices decide in favor of the black students? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
With which opinion do you agree? Why? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
Which opinion will have greater weight? Why? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
Do these two opinions present a conflict in the same way that the majority and dissenting opinions did in Plessy v. Ferguson? Why? Why not? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ |
