20th Century
Ms. Shen
Name: _______________________
Race relations in the years leading up to Brown v. Board of Education and the significance of the Brown
ruling
1. Background on race relations prior to 1950s – a brief refresher…
a. Constitution: _____ Compromise (counted for representation purposes only), no recognition of
blacks as citizens (only as ________________________)
b. 1865-1877: Civil War ends in 1865 – North is victorious, enter the Reconstruction Era – a decade of
promises:
i. 13-15th amendments (13th: freedom from slavery, 14th: citizenship for all people born and
naturalized in U.S., 15th:voting for all male citizens)
ii. Education
iii. Voting and participation in politics
Negative developments towards the end of the 1870s: sharecropping, rise of the KKK, etc. as white
southerners respond to blacks’ newfound freedom/rights
c. 1877-early 1900s: rise of _________________ laws (segregation), lynching, in 1896 Homer Plessy
challenges segregation laws in Plessy v. Ferguson & loses (case establishes doctrine of
“__________________________”)
d. 1910s: WWI, fight to prove selves but segregated in military, not allowed to serve on front lines
e. 1920s: still waiting for equality… _________________ Renaissance (recognition and connections to
African heritage, cultural boom, embracing black heritage, some crossover into white mainstream
with jazz), also saw a resurgence in the _______________, lynching rates also rose (return to
normalcy)
f.
1930s: Depression hit blacks hardest, already poor, first to lose jobs, New Deal
(_______________________
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____________________,) some minor improvements but not as significant as desired
g. 1940s: yet again – democratic rhetoric and seeming hypocrisy at home. Fight in WWII, segregated,
fight for democracy abroad and in the world but segregated at home (hypocrisy), beginning of the
“__________________________” campaign (fought for victory abroad and at home), hope for
improvements after the war. A. Philip Randolph threatened to lead a march on Washington against
discrimination in war industries and segregation in the military, led to the passage of Executive Order
8802 which banned discrimination in wartime industries. Armed forces were not desegregated until
1948, after the Korean War.
h. 1950s: __________________ allowed veterans to get housing and education but schools and
neighborhoods were segregated, stuck in cities with poor housing and schooling opportunities,
restrictive covenants prevent blacks from moving to suburbs, rigid segregation in all areas of life,
beginnings of a noticeable Civil Rights Movement (there before the 1950s but organized movement
on a national level begins in the 1950s.) Civil rights quieted by the fear of
___________________________ (dissent in any form = communism, liberal = bad), rhetoric of
American democracy/freedom fueled the black struggle – need to prove to the world that we are
democratic in both words and actions.
Brown vs. Board of Education (1954)
Background on the case:
In Topeka, Kansas in the 1950s, schools were segregated by race. 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. There was a school closer to
the Brown's house, but it was only for white students. Linda Brown and her family
believed that the segregated school system violated the Constitution and took their case
to court. The federal district court decided that although segregation in public education
was harmful to black children, because the all-black schools and all-white schools had
similar buildings, transportation, curricula, and teachers, the segregation was legal.
Remember, thanks to the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling, “separate but equal” facilities were
legal.
a.
The Browns and 4 other families appealed their case to Supreme Court stating that
separate schools were never be equal to one another. W hy do you think that they
made this claim? W hy can’t schools be BOTH separate (in terms of the races
of students that attend them) AND equal?
__________________________________________________________________
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In 1954, ______ states and Washington D.C. operated segregated school systems by law.
The case:
In presenting their case before the Court in Brown v. Board of Education, the ______________________________________
______________________________________________________________ (NAACP) lawyers made two related
points:
1. First, they argued that the great physical and funding differences between white and black schools was
overwhelming evidence that black children were denied equal educational opportunities and therefore was a
violation of the ______ amendment, which provides “equal protection of the laws” to all citizens.
i. Argued that segregation denied blacks equal protection under the laws and therefore segregation
and all that accompanies it is illegal and unconstitutional.
ii. State, however, argued that since there was no specific constitutional prohibition against
segregation in the schools, it was a matter for the states to decide (a power given to them as an
_________________________ right)
2. Second, the lawyers asserted that segregation had a psychological effect on black students and was therefore
harmful to the entire educational system. In making this point, the lawyers drew upon the work of many
influential social science scholars, especially the work of two social psychologists – Professor Kenneth Clark and
his wife, Mamie Phipps Clark. (Dangerous territory as it was the first time a court had ruled on the basis of
psychological evidence rather than entire constitutional.)
During the 1940s, psychologists Kenneth Bancroft Clark and his wife, Mamie Clark designed a test to study the
psychological effects of segregation on black children. The NAACP believed that Clark’s findings could be effectively used
in court to show that segregation damaged the personality development of black children. The NAACP hired Clark to
provide expert social science testimony in the case.
The “Dolls Test”
Clark used a doll test to show the personality dysfunction resulting from ___________________ among black children.
In the "doll test," psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark used four plastic, diaper-clad dolls, identical except for color.
They showed the dolls to black children between the ages of three and seven and asked them questions to determine racial
perception and preference. Almost all of the children readily identified the race of the dolls. However, when asked which
they preferred, the majority selected the white doll and attributed positive characteristics to
it.
1. When asked “show me the doll that you like best or that you’d like to play with,”
10 of the 16 children said they liked the white doll better.
2. When asked “show me the doll that is the ‘nice’ doll. Show me the doll that looks
‘bad,’” 10 considered the white doll the nice doll and 11 thought the brown doll
looked bad.
3. The Clarks also gave the children outline drawings of a boy and girl and asked
them to color the figures the same color as themselves. Many of the children with
dark complexions colored the figures with a white or yellow crayon.
Excerpted below is a portion of Professor Clark’s testimony before the Court. In it, he describes the tests and his conclusion in response to
questioning by Robert Carter of the NAACP:
Q. Well, as a result of your tests, what conclusions have you reached, Mr. Clark, with respect to the infant plaintiffs
involved in this case?
A. The conclusion which I was forced to reach was that these children in Clarendon County, like other human beings who
are subjected to an obviously inferior status in the society in which they live, have been definitely harmed in the
development of their personalities; that the signs of instability in their personalities are clear, and I think that every
psychologist would accept and interpret these signs as such.
Q. Is that the type of injury which in your opinion would be enduring or lasting?
A. I think it is the kind of injury which would be as enduring or lasting as the situation endured, changing only in its form
and in the way it manifests itself.
W hat is Professor Clark saying about the psychological damage being done to black children? Are the effects
permanent?
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How is his testimony important to this case?
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The Clarks concluded that "prejudice, discrimination, and segregation" caused black children to develop a sense of
inferiority and self-hatred. They argued that this simple test, along with others, showed the damage done to the black
psyche as the system of segregation and racial bias reinforced beliefs of black inferiority and seriously damaged self-esteem
among black children.
The ruling:
The court ruled ___________________ (9-to-0) that segregation on the basis of 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.”
Segregation as defined by Plessy rested on the untenable theory of racial superiority,
therefore, separate facilities are inherently unequal. W hy can’t schools be separate (in
terms of the races of students that attend them) AND equal? W hat is it about the
separation that is unequal?
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One small problem…Brown was a huge victory yet it set no timeline or deadline by which schools must begin to
desegregate. As a result, the NAACP went back to the courts for clarification. The second ruling (known as the Brown II
decision, 1955) gave states some freedom as to when they had to begin to implement the desegregation order. The Court
called on them to desegregate “with all deliberate speed.” MEAN ING W HAT?
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Opposition to Brown v. Board: Following the Brown decision, _______% of white southerners polled expressed that
they opposed integration.
President Eisenhower also opposed the ruling, saying “you cannot change the minds of men with laws and decisions.” The
South saw this as proof that he wouldn’t intervene to enforce the Brown ruling. However, in reality, if state violated the law,
the president must step in because federal authority was at stake.
In 1956, 101 southern politicians (from Alabama, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA) signed the Southern
Manifesto, which professed their states’ intention to oppose racial integration in public places. The Manifesto accused the
Supreme Court of "clear abuse of judicial power." It further promised to use "all lawful means to bring about a reversal of
this decision which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of
force in its implementation."
In the words of these rebels:
"The original Constitution does not mention education. Neither does
the 14th Amendment nor any other amendment. The debates preceding
the submission of the 14th Amendment clearly show that there was no
intent that it should affect the system of education maintained by the
States."
"This unwarranted exercise of power by the Court, contrary to the
Constitution, is creating chaos and confusion in the States principally
affected. It is destroying the amicable relations between the white and
Negro races that have been created through 90 years of patient effort by
the good people of both races. It has planted hatred and suspicion
where there has been heretofore friendship and understanding."