Brown v the Board of Education

    Today in class we had a mock trial about Brown v the Board of education. This famous supreme court case was about the segregation of schools and how the students were not treated fairly despite the fact that they were supposed to be treated equal. The Board of Education's points include about how if the students were not separated then African American students would be distracted and not be able to get a good education. They also talked about there would be more bullying and that would affect the focus of the classroom. The counterpoints Brown made against them made a lot more sense though. Brown talked about how it is a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment and how there was clearly still mistreatment of African American students. Brown also talked about how blacks and whites were supposed to get an equal quality education so that they have the same skills and knowledge to carry them in the workplace. This whole case originally started when the public school district in Topeka, Kansas did not admit the child of a black resident Oliver Brown, causing uproar in the African American community. The court ruled that it was in fact a 14th amendment violation and it sparked a wave of integration in schools. This case is so important because it paved the way for civil rights movements and the integration of schools is a huge stepping stone in the race for equal rights.