School Desegregation
1.
Imagine you are a seven year old and have to walk one mile to a bus stop by walking
through a railroad switching station and then waiting for a school bus to go to a "black
elementary school" or a school where only African
American children went. This is what happened to Linda
Brown, an African American third grader from Topeka,
Kansas, even though there was a "white elementary
school" only seven blocks away. A "white elementary
school" was a school where only white students were
able to attend.
The Lawsuit Begins
This is how the Brown vs. Board of Education lawsuit was started in 1951. Linda’s father,
Oliver Brown, and thirteen other parents tried to enroll their children in the local "white
schools" in the summer of 1950, but were turned down because they were African
Americans. They were told they must attend one of the four schools in the city for
African American children. These parents filed suit against the Topeka Board of
Education for their children. Oliver Brown was the first parent listed in the lawsuit, so the
case was named after him. At the time of the lawsuit, Blacks everywhere were not
treated fairly. For every $150.00 spent on white children at the
"white schools" only $50.00 was spent on African American
children at the "black schools." The parents of the African American
children thought that their school was not treated as fairly because
they were colored. They did not have the most current textbooks,
not enough school supplies, and overcrowded classrooms.
After Oliver was turned down by the school, he went to the NAACP
(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) to
fight to get Linda in the school. The NAACP hired lawyers to fight for African American
children all around the United States to be able to go to the same schools as white
children. This case was lost at the state level. The state courts referred to the case of
Plessy v. Ferguson which allowed separate but equal school systems for black and
white children. Since no court had ever overturned this case, the state courts thought
there was no problem treating the black children that way. The state courts also stated
that by treating the African American students like that now, they would better accept
when they were treated like that when they were older. This was a time when black
people of all ages were treated like they were a lower class or segregated. They were
unable to eat in the same restaurants, drink from the same drinking fountains, or even
ride in the same train cars as white people.
Taking the Case to the Supreme Court
After losing the case in the state courts, the NAACP decided to take the case all the way
to the United States Supreme Court. They appealed to the Supreme Court on October 1,
1951. At that time there were several cases in the United States similar to this one,
cases that challenged separate schools for black and white students. They were started
in the states of South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. They were all joined together to
be fought as one. The Supreme Court first heard from the
lawyers on December 9, 1952. The lawyers for the Board
of Education argued that many people, including black
scholars, did not see a problem with having black
students attend all black schools. The lawyers for the
Browns argued that the only reason for separate
education for Blacks and Whites would be if there was
proof that black children were different than everyone else.
The arguments lasted for three days and the Supreme Court justices talked it over for
several months. At that time instead of ruling, they asked the lawyers on both sides
some more questions. In the middle of this set of questions, one of the Supreme Court
justices died and had to be replaced. A year after the first arguments were heard, the
Supreme Court heard the case once again.
After three long years the case finally ended on May 17, 1954 with the court finding in
favor of Linda Brown and the other African American children like her. The Supreme
Court said that it was not fair to have black and white students separated in different
schools. The judges voted on this case nine to zero. It took some states many years to
put students together in schools and have them treated the same because many people
were still prejudiced against Blacks.
Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/brown_v__board_of_education.htm
2.
FIRST DAY The Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education integrated the schools. But
today its meaning is at issue. Here, the first day of desegregation, on Sept. 8, 1954, at Fort Myer
Elementary School in Fort Myer, Va.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/weekinreview/10liptak.html?_r=1
3.
Source : http://thebsreport.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/brown.jpg
4.
Civil Rights Leaders
The Fight for Equal Education
Movement Timeline
Resistance to the
Use these links to return to the page you got here from or to investigate other issues related to this topic. If the Civil Rights Movement is new
to you, you can visit our dictionary page from any page in the entire web site by clicking here.
Ruby Bridges played an important part in the Civil Rights Movement. Ruby was born
September 8, 1954 in Tylertown, Mississippi. A year later, her family moved to New
Orleans, Louisiana. At that time, people wanted to keep blacks and whites separate
because whites didn’t think that blacks were as good as them. For example, blacks and
whites had separate drinking fountains, blacks had to sit in the back of buses, and
blacks and whites each had their own separate schools.
Getting a Better Education
Ruby was a little girl who was one of the first blacks to go to an all
white school. Her dad didn’t want her to go to the all-white William
Frantz School. He didn’t want any part of the school mixing whites
and blacks. He feared that angry people, who wanted to keep
blacks and whites separate, would hurt his family if Ruby went to the all-white school.
Ruby’s mom wanted her to go to the all-white school because she wanted her child to
have a better education than she did and to have a good job when she grew up. Her
mom had such a tough time in her life that she wanted Ruby to have an easier life.
Ruby’s mom had to work hard even when she was pregnant. The day before Ruby was
born, her mom had to carry ninety pounds of cotton on her back. She knew that if her
child went to William Frantz School, Ruby would have a better life.
Ruby's First Days of School
White people didn’t want blacks going to their schools because they thought blacks
should not be treated as equals. They didn’t want blacks to have it as good as whites
because they were a different color. Some white people threatened to
poison Ruby and hurt her if she went to their school. Her dad even lost
his job because his boss didn’t think that someone should be working
for him if his black child was going to an all-white school.
Ruby’s mom got her six year-old Ruby into the all-white William Frantz
School because Ruby passed a very hard test. When Ruby started
first grade, U.S. marshals took her to and from school and protected
her from the angry white people. On the first day of school in 1960,
Ruby and her mom sat in the office. Some adults took their children to
school but most others did not. Ruby saw some people dragging their
white kids out of the classrooms because they didn’t want their kids going to the same
school as a black kid. Ruby and her mom stayed in the office for the whole day of school.
Many of the white parents and their kids were outside the school protesting. They were
yelling and holding signs. The teachers still tried to teach the few students at school that
day.
The second day Ruby, her mom, and her teacher sat in the classroom. No white parents
would allow their children to be in the same classroom with Ruby. Her teacher, Mrs.
Henry, started to teach and was very loving toward Ruby. She supported and helped
Ruby through the difficult time. On the third day of school, her mom didn’t go with her.
For the rest of the year, she was the only one in her class and she was taught on a
whole different floor from all the other kids. The principal and many teachers also didn’t
think Ruby should be taught with the white children. At first this didn’t bother Ruby, but
after a while she wondered why she couldn’t be with the other children.
Handling the Pressure
After winter break, Ruby started to see a
child psychiatrist. His name was Dr. Coles.
Dr. Coles got interested in Ruby by seeing
her go into school with the marshals
surrounding her. He wondered how she
could handle all of the pressure and wanted
to help her. He was very supportive of Ruby.
He thought it would be better for her to have
someone outside of her family to talk to. She
felt special because an important man was
coming to visit her. His wife came, too, and
she was a very caring person. She became
good friends with Ruby’s mother.
Image of Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell at
After many years, Ruby graduated and
biggallery.com/art/byimg/A0A5T000.htm, Hutchinson Turner,
[email protected], March 2000. Email message.
became a travel agent. She was one of the
first black Americans to go to an all-white school. This helped make it easier for other
blacks to go to white schools, get a better education, and help improve relations
between blacks and whites. She didn’t think it was much of an accomplishment until
years later.
After her brother was killed in a drug-related shooting, she began to realize what she did
in 1960 was very important for blacks. She then began to help other troubled black kids.
Ruby started volunteer work at the William Frantz School. She helped strengthen the
school by developing the Ruby Bridges Foundation. She travels to schools to explain the
importance of reading, power of education, and integration of races.
Becoming Famous
Disney made a TV movie based on her experiences. A book about Ruby titled The Story
of Ruby Bridges was published in 1995. When the book came out, Ruby’s first grade
teacher, Mrs. Henry, saw it and contacted her. They were reunited on the "Oprah
Winfrey Show." That was one of the greatest joys of Ruby’s life.
She has also been in contact again with Dr. Coles, her old child
psychiatrist. There was footage of Ruby in the television series,
"Eyes on the Prize," about the Civil Rights Movement. She also
found out that she was painted in a Norman Rockwell painting.
Ruby finally reached a point where she felt her life had
meaning. She feels that there was a reason for what she went
through. She played an important part in bringing blacks and
whites together. She did not know why she had to go through it, but now believes that it
was meant to be that way. Little Ruby Bridges played an important role in the Civil
Rights Movement.
Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/ruby_bridges.htm
5.
Ruby Bridges and the federal marshals who protected her.
Source: http://blog.mawbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/ruby-bridges-and-federal-marshalls.jpg
6.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rubybridges.com/images/pic
9.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.rubybridges.com/pictures.htm&h=350&w=530&sz=1
94&tbnid=mquX9fpWfEGKSM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=132&prev=/search%3Fq%3Druby
%2Bbridges%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=ruby+bridges&hl=en&usg=
__dDe5RTrJ90KF1DI_gweWjIguAk=&sa=X&ei=mianTa6PDIT0swOJ3OD5DA&ved=0CC8Q9QEwBA
Click on the link above to connect to photos on the Ruby Bridges website.
7.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajE9G4aUJRA
Link to a YouTube video of Ruby describing her experiences – you can’t play this at
school, but you can access it at home or on any unfiltered computer.
8.