Brown v. Board of Education
 |
| New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-127042) |
Beforehand:
States refused to allow black students into white schools. We know that, hopefully. If not, let’s take a brief detour into the history of education in America. In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on what was originally a case about railroad passengers in Louisiana. The 7-1 decision held that, “We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff's argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority” (Plessy, 163 U.S. at 551). This is the moment that “separate but equal” began its reign in America.
By the numbers:
-Prince Edward County, Virginia (1939): “The fifteen facilities for 2,000 black students were valued at $330,000. In contrast, the seven brick schoolhouses for 1,400 white students has been appraised at $1.2 million” (Anderson 93).
- Atlanta, Georgia (1942): “the Atlanta school board allocated $75 more in support per white students than for black students.” (Anderson 93)
-Louisiana (1973-74): “Louisiana spent $76.34 on each white elementary school child and only $23.99 on each black one (Anderson 94).
-“During WWII, the federal government estimated that it would have taken $43 million dollars (equivalent to a little more than $1.3 trillion in 2016) to equalize the schools in America. “ Anderson 99).
Brown v. Board Verdict and implementation:
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided that “in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” — Brown, 397 U.S. at 495
Although this seemed like a major defeat for those who worked tirelessly to keep white schools white, these people were not going down without exhausting every possible resource. Anderson includes the image we have of Ruby Bridges, but adds the pictures of the, “The angry mob of mostly white housewives hounding traumatized 15 year old Elizabeth Eckforn. . . The wreckage of Hattie Cotton Elementary School in Nashville, Tennesee, after it was bombed in the wee hours of the morning. . . The day before, Patricia Watson had started . . . as the school’s only black student.”
And white people put their money where their mouth was once again. In 1958, Little Rock, Arkansas, like other states, began privatizing education. They raised money and added it to the per child allotment of the state, which became enough to ensure that black students were even left without a high school to attend for one year (Anderson 109). Nine years after Brown v. Board of Education was passed, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi has still not yet allowed one black student into a white public school.
Alabama’s Governor George Wallace famously opposed integration, saying, “ Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!” in his inauguration speech in 1963. Six months later, President John F. Kennedy sent the National Guard to the University of Alabama to force its desegregation, giving us the famous photo of Wallace standing in the doorway. Keeping to its tradition of undermining federal law, Alabama wasn't done yet. The Alabama Independent School Association was formed in 1966 with eight segregation academies that eventually grew to more than 70 schools (Adams 34-38).
In the state of Virginia, in an effort to dodge the Brown decision, Prince Edward County unlawfully squirreled away all of its tax money into private schools. But, leaders took it one step further than Alabama. They actually completely closed schools for five years from 1959-1964, effectively leaving close to three thousand black students without education (Anderson 110).
This is primarily about Brown v. Board of Education, and seeks to only describe issues contributing to the decision and reactions stemming from the decision that span less than 30 years. As a teacher, I am daily aware of the issues that continue to plague schools. And, while those issues exist in the same continuum, I wanted to present a zoomed-in-view of these few decades. All this to say: more will be said about education in America later.
SOCIAL CAPITAL, SCHOOL DESEGREGATION AND EDUCATION IN WEST ALABAMA’S BLACK BELT : http://etd.auburn.edu/bitstream/handle/10415/804/ADAMS_JOSHUA_32.pdf?sequence=1
Instant Academies Spring Up in State
Comments
Post a Comment