BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATIONContributions to the Civil Rights movement in the United States

Goals/Objectives:5th grade Social Studies

Era 9 – Postwar United States (1945-1970’s)5.5.12d – Explain Brown vs. Board of Education and its importance to the Civil Rights movement5.5.spi8 Recognize examples of how the United States confronted Civil Rights issues.

What do you know about Civil Rights?1. What does the 13th amendment to the

Constitution of the United States say?2. What year was the 13th amendment passed?3. What does the 14th amendment to the

Constitution of the United States say?4. What year was it passed?5. What does Plessy vs. Ferguson have to do with

schools?

The Civil Rights Movement prior to 1954• 13th Amendment (1865) outlawed slavery• 14th Amendment (1868) actually gave rights to “all

persons born or naturalized in the United States.”• After the 14th Amendment –racism was legalized• 1896 – Plessy vs. Ferguson: Separate but equal is okay• Public buildings, restrooms, public transportation,

schools, etc. were segregated.

What does segregated mean anyway?

Segregation:The separation or isolation from others or a main body group.

Racial segregation:The separation of humans in to racial groups

Seeking Change in the Courts• 1909: NAACP is formed• A young black lawyer named Thurgood

Marshall is General Counsel for the NAACP

• 1930’s: Marshall and the NAACP begin to challenge the “separate but equal” doctrine

• First cases were colleges at the graduate level

• 1938 – Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, Registrar of the University of Missouri

• 1950 – Sweatt v. Painter• The goal was to integrate all of American

societyWhat does integration mean?

Integration:The process of “desegregation” or not excluding some from the main group. Integration also involves making equal opportunity for all, regardless of race.

Desegregation is primarily a legal term, used in courts and court cases.

Integration primarily refers to what happens in society or communities.

Brown vs. Board of Education• Black 3rd grader named Linda Brown of Topeka, KS• Had to walk 1 mile and through a railroad switchyard to

get to her black elementary school• White school was only 7 blocks from her house• NAACP requested an injunction to forbid the segregation

and allow Linda to attend the white school• Topeka court ruled that “segregation in schools prepared

black students for the segregation that exists in our society”

• Thurgood Marshall appealed to the Supreme Court• After 2 days of legal arguments, Chief Justice Earl

Warren delivers the verdict• Brown vs. Board of Education overturned Plessy vs.

Ferguson • Made segregation illegal

http://www.history.com/videos/maya-angelou-brown-vs-board-of-education#maya-angelou-brown-vs-board-of-education

Famed author and poet Maya Angelou on Brown vs. Board of Education

So what?• Brown vs. Board of Education was one catalyst of

the Civil Rights movement• In the years following the 1954 case black people

began to assert their rights to live integrated into society:

• Woolworth’s lunch counter sit ins• Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Dr.

Martin Luther King • Rosa Parks and Montgomery Bus boycotts• The Little Rock Nine• Locally, The Clinton 12• It was a scary time and many were arrested, hurt,

and killed• Black people stood up for the rights afforded them

as citizens of the United States• “We hold these truths to be self evident, that ALL

men are created equal, endowed by their Creator certain inalienable rights and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” (Declaration of Independence)

Things to think about…• What is segregation?• What is integration?• What did Plessy vs. Ferguson make legal?• What year did Brown vs. Board of Education

happen?• What did Brown vs. Board of Education do to

American schools?• What part did Brown vs. Board of Education play in

the Civil Rights Movement?

Goals/Objectives:5th grade Social Studies

Era 9 – Postwar United States (1945-1970’s)5.5.12d – Explain Brown vs. Board of Education and its importance to the Civil Rights movement5.5.spi8 Recognize examples of how the United States confronted Civil Rights issues.