Education Barriers
Instructions:
Step 1: Choose a leader for this round.
Step 2: Leader reads aloud the
“Background”.
Background: With the Supreme Court
decision in Brown v. board, the federal
government had ordered the
desegregation of schools to occur, “with
all deliberate speed.” In September 1957, Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine black children from entering Central
High School in Little Rock. Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the nine, wanted to attend
Central high because she wanted a good education at one of the best schools in
the country. Even though a federal district court ordered Governor Faubus to
comply with the Brown v. Board of Education, Faubus refused to protect rights of
the nine African American students. Finally, President Eisenhower called in the
National Guard, took direct command of the state guard, and sent the 101st
Airborne Division to enforce integration of Central high. He did this in part
because the news coverage of Little Rock made citizens across the nations feel
indignant and horrified. Also, he could not allow the argument of states’ rights to overrule federal law. The army had to escort the students into the school through
angry mobs and had to protect them throughout the remainder of the school
year.
Step 3: Take turns reading aloud; “Brown v. Board of Education”, “Little Rock Nine,” “Regents of the University of California v. Bakke”, and “California Prop
209”.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas 1954
BACKGROUND
In the early 1950’s, racial segregation in public schools was the norm across America. Although all the schools in a given district were supposed to be equal,
most black schools were far inferior to their white counterparts.
In Topeka, Kansas, a black third-grader named Linda Brown had to walk one mile
through a railroad switchyard to get to her black elementary school, even though
the white elementary school was only seven blocks away. Linda’s father, Oliver
Brown, tried to enroll her in the white elementary school, but the principal of the
school refused. Brown went to McKinley Burnett, the head of Topeka’s branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and
asked for help. The NAACP was eager to assist the browns, as it had long wanted
to challenge segregation in public schools wanting to as being in violation of the
Fourteen Amendment “. . .equal protection” clause. Other black parents joined Brown, and, in 1951, the NAACP, led by a bright young lawyer, Thurgood
Marshall, requested an injunction that would forbid the segregation of Topeka’s public schools.
THE COURT’S DECISION
On May 17, 1954, Chief Justice Earl Warren read the decision of the unanimous
Court:
“We come then to the questions 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… 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.” The Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine of Plessy for
public education, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and required the desegregation
of schools across America.
Thurgood Marshall: Warrior for Civil Rights
After the Brown case, Marshall had established himself as the nation’s leading civil rights advocate. On October 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the
first African American Supreme Court justice. Here are his thoughts and words on
civil rights:
Thurgood Marshall Quotes
“A child born to a black mother in a state like
Mississippi—born to the dumbest, poorest
sharecropper—by merely drawing its first breath
in the democracy has exactly the same right as a
white baby born to the wealthiest person in the
United States. It’s not true, but I challenge
anyone to say it’s not a goal worth working for.”
“A man can make what he wants of himself if he truly believes that he must be ready for hard
work and many heart breaks.”
“The United States has been called the melting
pot of the world. But it seems to me that the
colored man either missed getting into the pot or
he got melted down.”
“None of us got where we were solely by pulling themselves up by our bootstraps. We got here
because somebody –a parent, a teacher, or a few
nuns-bent down and helped us pick up our
boots.”
Little Rock Nine in Their Own Words
Elizabeth Eckford (1957) “I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the mob. . . . I
looked into the face of an old woman, and it
seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her
again, she spat at me.”
Melba Beals (1957) “In speaking for the group, I might also say, that there are moral standards
mixed in this. We feel that it is right to go,
because it is an institution supported by taxes
which our parents participate in; we do feel we have a right to go.”
Gloria Ray (1957) “Somebody just walked up really close to me and whack, and before I knew it, this stuff was coming out of my eyes—at the time I didn’t wear glasses—and I was walking down the hall. You expect to be shot, I thought I would
be my dress, but there was this incredible pain in my eyes, the most awful pain I
had ever—and I just dropped my books and started screaming, screaming,
screaming, screaming—all I could do was scream.”
Jefferson Thomas (1997) “It became even more important to graduate because I
guess I had to prove something to myself that I wouldn’t cave or give in under stress or adversity, that I was as though as, you know, any teenager, going to say
I’m tough, I can take anything you can dish out and as long as I can take it, I’m better than you are.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
Beginning in the early 1970s, the medical school of
the University of California at Davis used a twopart admissions program for the 100 students
entering each year; a regular admissions program
and a special admissions program. The purpose of
this program was to try to increase the number of
minority and “disadvantaged” students in the class, so the 16 spots in the special admissions
program were reserved for “qualified” minority and disadvantage students.
Allan Bakke was a white male who applied to and was rejected from the regular
admissions program in 1973 and 1974. Bakke filed suit in the Superior Court of
Yolo Country, California, claiming that the special admission program violated the
Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 because it excluded him on a basis of race. He wanted the
Court to force the University of California at Davis to admit him to the medical
school.
THE COURT’S DECISION
Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court:
“. . . The special admissions program is undeniably a classification based on race and ethnic background. They guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment extend to
all persons. Its language is explicit: “No State shall . . . deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” . . . The guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something
else when applied to a person of another color. If both are not accorded the same
protection, then it is not equal. Petitioner (U.C Regents) urges us to adopt . . .
more restrictive view of the Equal Protection Clause and hold that discrimination
against members of the white “majority” cannot be suspect if its purpose can be
characterized as “benign”(not really causing any damage).
. . . We have held that in “order to justify that . . . in order to discriminate on the basis of race, a State must show that its purpose . . . is both constitutionally
permissible and substantial and that its use of the classification is ‘necessary . . . to the accomplishment’ of its purpose. . . . The special admissions program purports to serve the purposes of: (i) “reducing the historic deficit of traditionally disfavored minorities in medical schools and in the medical profession,” . . . (ii) countering the effects of. . . discrimination; (iii) increasing the number of
physicians who will practice in communities currently underserved; and (iv)
obtaining the educational benefits that come from an ethnically diverse student
body.
. . . In summary, it is evident that the Davis special admissions program involves
the use of an explicit racial classification never before countenanced by this
Court… Race or ethnic background may be deemed a “plus” in a particular applicant’s file, yet it does not insulate the individual from comparison with all other candidates for the available seats.”
With respect to respondent’s entitlement to an injunction directing his admission to the Medical School…. Respondent is entitled to the injunction, and that portion of the judgment must be affirmed.”
California’s Proposition 209: 1996
In many parts of the United States, the debate over affirmative action remains
important. In 1996, voters in California approved Proposition 209 to ban the use
of affirmative action in the state. Proposition 209 was extremely controversial and
since its passage, some other states are considering whether they should ban
affirmative action as well.
The key operative provision of this measure states:
“The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in
the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”
Step 4: Leader asks the discussion questions below to the group members. If
your group is not able to answer the questions, review the information again.
Discussion Questions
1. To what extent do you think the actions of the “Little Rock Nine” inspired others to join the civil rights movement?
2. If the literacy tests that were given to blacks before voted were given to
whites as well, would they still have been considered in violation of the 14th
and 15th amendment? Explain.
3. What trend has the Bakke case started in regards to “righting the wrongs of past discrimination?”
4. In what ways has the brown case affected your school experience?
Step 5: Using the information that you learned complete the “Character
Quotes” worksheet (Data Sheet 1).
Step 6: If time permits complete the, “Education Barriers” Activity
**** Before you move to the next center please return all items to the folder.
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