Argument was heard in the 1952 term, and reargument was heard this term on certain questions propounded by the court.In approaching this problem, we cannot turn the clock back to 1868 when the amendment was adopted, or even to 1896 when Plessy v. Ferguson was written. "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. "Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Each day, Linda Brown and her sister had to walk through a dangerous railroad switchyard to get to the bus stop for the ride to their all-black elementary school.
Because of the obvious importance of the question presented, the court took jurisdiction. To separate them 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. Title U.S. Reports: Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. The curriculum was usually rudimentary; ungraded schools were common in rural areas; the school term was but three months a year in many states; and compulsory school attendance was virtually unknown. Contributor Names Warren, Earl (Judge) Supreme Court of the United States (Author) Education of white children was largely in the hands of private groups. It is true that public school education at the time of the amendment had advanced further in the North, but the effect of the amendment on northern states was generally ignored in the Congressional debates. In order that we may have the full assistance of the parties in formulating decrees, the cases will be restored to the docket, and the parties are requested to present further argument on questions 4 and 5 previously propounded by the court for the reargument this term. "In each of the cases, minors of the Negro race, through their legal representatives, seek the aid of the courts in obtaining admission to the public schools of their community on a nonsegregated basis.
American courts have since labored with the doctrine for over half a century. In Cumming v. County Board of Education, 175 U.S. 528, the Gong Lum v. Rice, 275 U.S. 78, the validity of the doctrine itself was not challenged. In each of the cases other than the Delaware case, a three-judge federal district court denied relief to the plaintiffs on the so-called "separate but equal" doctrine announced by this court in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537.
What others in Congress and the state legislatures had in mind cannot be determined with any degree of certainty.Whatever may have been the extent of psychological knowledge at the time of Plessy v. Ferguson, this finding is amply supported by modern authority. In more recent cases, all on the graduate school level, inequality was found in that specific benefits enjoyed by white students were denied to Negro students of the same educational qualifications. In the Delaware case, the Supreme Court of Delaware adhered to that doctrine, but ordered that the plaintiffs be admitted to the white schools because of their superiority to the Negro schools.Did you know these seven fun facts about President Eisenhower? We must look instead to the effect of segregation itself on public education.An additional reason for the inconclusive nature of the amendment's history, with respect to segregated schools, is the status of public education at that time. Our decision, therefore, cannot turn on merely a comparison of these tangible factors in the Negro and white schools involved in each of the cases. We have now announced that such segregation is a denial of the equal protection of the laws. Education of Negroes was almost non-existent, and practically all of the race were illiterate. This disposition makes unnecessary any discussion whether such segregation also violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.Reargument was largely devoted to the circumstances surrounding the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. Any language in Plessy v. Ferguson contrary to this finding is rejected.In the first cases in this court construing the Fourteenth Amendment, decided shortly after its adoption, the court interpreted it as proscribing all state-imposed discriminations against the Negro race. The doctrine of "separate but equal" did not make its appearance in this court until 1896 in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, supra, involving not education but transportation. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337; Sipuel v. Oklahoma, 332 U.S. 631; Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629; McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 339 U.S. 637.
The Attorneys General of the states requiring or permitting segregation in public education will also be permitted to appear as amici curiae upon request to do so by September 15, 1954, and submission of briefs by October 1, 1954. it is so ordered.During nearly 30 years of military service, he had waited for an opportunity to lead men on the field of battle.These cases come to us from the state of Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware.