RACISM + JUSTICE
Will Our Supreme Court Overturn Brown v. Board of Education Next?
Disregarding precedent puts American's civil rights in jeopardy
The U.S. Supreme Court recently debated women's right to choose whether or not to become mothers. So, what's stopping them from changing their "opinion" about Brown v. Board of Education? If precedent means nothing at all, then the only thing holding this democracy together is chewing gum, a flimsy, sticky constitutional agreement never truly embraced by or applied to all Americans.
Many White parents have the privilege of sending their kids to private schools, which has only deepened racial segregation in America's public schools. Writing about the consequences of modern segregation, the Economic Policy Institute said, "It means that the promise of integration and equal opportunities for all Black students remains an ideal rather than a reality."
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka became a landmark case which expanded civil rights to Black students across the nation. The nine justices unanimously ruled in favor of the Brown family and other plaintiffs in the 1954 Supreme Court Case that redefined access to education in America.
Justices agreed that "separate-but-equal education and other services were not, in fact, equal at all." Also, they wholesale rejected the notion that keeping Black and White students separate while promising "equal" resources was constitutional behavior. You see, segregation violated the "equal protection clause" in the 14th Amendment. In other words, the case implied state laws should not violate federally protected civil liberties.
The sanctity of the landmark decision that helped ensure Black children’s full and equal access to participation in American society is increasingly under attack in the courts, in government, and in the private sphere (ACLU).
In 2021, America's schools and communities are still deeply segregated. It's essential to recognize that Brown v. Board of Education did not automatically facilitate integration. Furthermore, integrating schools came at a cost to Black students and parents, often bullied by White students and parents who wanted to keep their schools racially homogenous.
