Brown v. Board of Education Case

Brown v. Board of Education

Its Legal and Historical Legacy, then and today

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is one of the seminal legal markers of the civil rights era. The U.S. Supreme Court's finding in favor of Brown marked the transformation of the civil rights movement from a social and a historical force to one that had created a real, measurable political and legal impact upon American society. It changed American law, invalidating Plessy v. Ferguson 1896's allowance of supposedly separate but equal accommodations between the races. In the minds of African-Americans, the Supreme Court decision stated, there could be no such equality of the races in separation, in actuality, because separation of any racially influenced kind inevitably resulted in inequality, psychologically as well as practically. This was true particularly in the impressionable minds of children.

In arguing as for the relevance of Brown today in education, thus its legacy seems almost self-evident -- the racially integrative nature of the American public, and by and large private, system of elementary, secondary, and higher education. Today, Black children and White children and children of all creeds and ethnicities may be educated about one another's various histories side by side. This fact alone, a seminal change in American history, seems to speak for and to the continued relevance of Brown. Moreover, the foundation of the education of children as one of the most important aspects of American racial improvement and dialogue seems to be confirmed by the passing of Brown. Even when it is acknowledged that America is still quite divided racially, always the hope is expressed that children and changing children's minds and self-perceptions will provide the key to a greater and larger form of racial understanding for America. The court itself stated in the 1954 Brown decision that "today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. 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. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms." (U.S. Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education, 1954)

Perhaps an even more long-standing testimony to the continued relevance of the evidence presented in favor of Brown is the cases' stress upon how mainstream American culture created low self-esteem in the minds of African-American children, the idea that what was White was 'better' than what was Black. Even the attempts to erase such notions since Brown was decided does not detract from the continued importance of the project of building up young African-American's self-esteem. "Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law; for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group," said the Court at the time. This legacy is still felt today, even in the absence of segregation, and can be said to account for the continuing battle to improve even talented young African-Americans from falling prey to societal and cultural pressures that equate failure with Blackness and success with Whiteness. Even to succeed in some communities is to be an Oreo, Black on the outside and White on the inside, reflecting self-hatred even when mocking others.

But is integration, as prescribed by Brown, the answer, or at least is integration the only answer to the current racial divide that still exists in American education? Although an integration of spheres of knowledge, of Black and White peoples and cultures may be a component of such an answer and point to the court cases' continued relevance, clearly Brown is not relevant in the same way as it was in the 1950's. Mere access to integrated and enhanced education and vocational opportunities for African-Americans is not enough. Rather, a lifting of self-esteem and soul must be accomplished as well. The necessity and positive influence and experiences of African-Americans through affirmative action as well as integration highlights that mere mixing of the races in education is and was not enough. Rather, the cultural legacy of slavery and the historical unequal division of the races and educational opportunities must be explored, acknowledged and ameliorated in the present and future, rather than merely be ignored or addressed with supposed equality of opportunities in what was once such an unequal society.