Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark Supreme Court case that was decided in 1954 overturning the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 that permitted states to set up racially segregated schools (Gooden & Dorsey, 2014). The Court unanimously (9-0) ruled that the laws in various American states that permitted racial exclusion in public educational facilities were unconstitutional. This ruling applies even when the segregated schools are otherwise at par with regards to quality. The courts declared that separate educational institutions are fundamentally unequal and are in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Impact
Brown v. Board of Education marked a watershed in the history of race relations in the U.S. Though specifically directed to the country’s K-12 schools, the ruling also entitled African Americans to quality post-secondary education despite their racial status in a society where racial segregation and discrimination was prevalent (Elizabeth, 2018) . Resultantly, there was an increase in the enrollment rate of African American students in previously White-dominated colleges and universities. The Court’s ruling also gave African American teachers the liberty to work in public schools of their choosing, an opportunity that was nonexistent afore the 1954 decision (Elizabeth, 2018) . Brown v. Board of Education also set a precedent for civil rights movements and gave racial minorities hope that the separate but equal status quo could be changed on all fronts. However, desegregation and integration did not occur seamlessly. Today, decades after the Supreme Court's decision, racial minorities are disproportionately represented in learning institutions, which are often inhospitable and even hostile (Reardon & Owens, 2014) .
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Rulings
Although the ultimate decision of the Supreme Court was unanimous, justices were initially conflicted on how to rule on the matter of school segregation. Chief Justice Fred Vinson opined that the Plessy verdict of 1896 should not be overturned. Unfortunately, Vinson passed on in September 1953 and was replaces by Earl Warren. The new chief justice, through his determination and political astuteness successfully engineered a unanimous decision against school segregation. In the Court’s decision, Warren that the separate but equal doctrine could not be applied in the public education field since segregated schools are intrinsically unequal. Accordingly, it was determined that the rights of the plaintiffs to equal protection of the law as enshrined in the fourteenth amendment were being violated.
Current Societal mores and Beliefs
Various societal values and principles seemed to have influenced the Supreme Court’s decision, which then became a facilitator for societal change. The justices in Brown seem to have agreed to overturn Plessy because almost half of the U.S. was shifting towards the acceptance of the integration of schools and progressively, the country was beginning to recognize that the separate but equal notion was inexorably an oxymoron. By the time the proceedings for Brown were being initiated, with plaintiffs of the defense advocating for the invalidation of statuses segregating public schools, significant changes had already taken place in American race relations. Arguably, the Court's decision was not so much of setting an entirely new precedent. Instead, it was more of a recognition of an already existing and evolving standard, and protecting it by the law. Brown also presented a dilemma as it created a conflict between law and politics in which the law came up short. As a catalyst to societal change, Brown inspired campaigns against racial discrimination on all fronts in American society.
Law and Society
The law is a representation of the needs, public interests, and values of society. Policymakers identify common interests in society and make laws to protect these interests. The law is thus important as it serves as a standard of conduct for citizens and provides order and proper guidelines to enable citizens to coexist harmoniously. The law also allows the sustenance of equity on the three arms of government. As such, it keeps society running. The society also affects the way the Constitution is viewed. The legitimacy of the Constitution is hinged on its acceptance by a majority of citizens. Accordingly, as the supreme law, the constitution should inherently belong to the people who will then be inspired to uphold, defend, and protect it.
In Brown , a forensic psychologist might support the Court's ruling and thus support the integration in schooling. This is because studies in forensic psychology have shown that reducing school segregation may potentially affect educational equality positively (Benito, Alegre, & Gonzàlez-Balletbò, 2014) . Segregated schooling, on the other hand, has been shown to have negative impacts on academic outcomes. Importantly, integrated schooling environments benefit the academic performance of racial minority students (Benito, Alegre, & Gonzàlez-Balletbò, 2014) . Furthermore, a central tenet in the U.S. is equality and thus all citizens should have equal chances of access to quality education.
References
Benito, R., Alegre, M. À., & Gonzàlez-Balletbò, I. (2014). School Segregation and Its Effects on Educational Equality and Efficiency in 16 OECD Comprehensive School Systems. Comparative Education Review , 58 (1), 104–134. https://doi.org/10.1086/672011
Brown v. Board of Education , 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954).
Elizabeth, C. (2018). A step toward Brown v. Board of Education: Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher and her fight to end segregation . Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Gooden, M. A., & Thompson Dorsey, D. N. (2014). The distorted looking glass: Examining how housing identity privilege obviates the goals of Brown v. Board of Education at 60. Educational Administration Quarterly , 50 (5), 764-782.
Plessy v. Ferguson , 163 U.S. 537, 16 S. Ct. 1138, 41 L. Ed. 256 (1896).
Reardon, S. F., & Owens, A. (2014). 60 Years After Brown: Trends and Consequences of School Segregation. Annual Review of Sociology , 40 (1), 199–218. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071913-043152
