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Key
Excerpts from the Majority Opinion, Brown I
The decision was unanimous.
Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the Court.
.
. . Here . . . there are findings below that the Negro and
white schools involved have been equalized, or are being
equalized, with respect to buildings, curricula, qualifications,
and salaries of teachers, and other "tangible"
factors. Our decision, therefore, cannot turn on merely
a comparison of these tangible factors in the Negro and
white schools involved in each of these cases. We must look
instead to the effect of segregation itself on public education.
. . .
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. . . . 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. . .
.
To separate
them [children in grade and high schools] 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 to ever be undone. . . . Whatever may have
been the extent of psychological knowledge at the time of
Plessy v. Ferguson, this finding is amply
supported by modern authority. . . .
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 other similarly situated . . . are . . . deprived of
the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth
Amendment.
After
the decision in Brown was reached, the Court
decided a companion case Bolling v. Sharpe
regarding the same issue of segregation in the District
of Columbia. The Court notes first that although the
Fourteenth Amendment is only applicable to states,
the Fifth Amendment is applicable to the District
of Columbia. The Court then held that while the Fifth
Amendment does not contain an equal protection clause
it does contain a due process clause, the concepts both
stemming from the American ideal of fairness, and discrimination
can be so unjustifiable it can be deemed violative of
due process.
Questions to Consider:
- In
Chief Justice Warren's opinion, how valuable is education?
Why?
- What
does the Court mean by the "tangible" factors
of equality? Are these tangible factors the only factors
the Court considered when determining whether the Fourteenth
Amendment was violated?
- According
to the Supreme Court of the United States, what "intangible"
factors play a role in whether school facilities are truly
equal?
- Can
you find any weaknesses in the basis of the Court's decision?
- What
would your school be like if Brown had been decided
differently and Plessy had never been reversed?
How would education be different for white and African
American students?
- Do
you think that there are still consequences resulting
from schools being segregated in the past?
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