Brown v. Board of Education
347 U.S. 483 · Supreme Court of the United States · 1954
Facts
Minors of the Negro race, through their legal representatives, sought admission to the public schools of their communities on a nonsegregated basis. In each instance, they had been denied admission to schools attended by white children under state laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race. This segregation was alleged to deprive the plaintiffs of the equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment. In the Kansas case, the Topeka Board of Education established segregated elementary schools under a state statute permitting it. In the Delaware case, the plaintiffs were ordered admitted to white schools by the state courts due to the superiority of white schools.
Procedural history
In the Kansas, South Carolina, and Virginia cases, three-judge federal district courts denied relief to the plaintiffs, applying the “separate but equal” doctrine. The Delaware case saw the state's Supreme Court adhere to the doctrine but ordered plaintiffs admitted to white schools due to their superiority. The Supreme Court took jurisdiction over these consolidated cases, hearing argument in the 1952 Term and reargument in the current Term.
Issue
Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other “tangible” factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities?
Holding
The doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place in the field of public education. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, and therefore, the plaintiffs are deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
Rule
The doctrine of "separate but equal" is unconstitutional in the context of public education. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal because segregation generates a feeling of inferiority in minority children, affecting their motivation to learn and their educational and mental development. This impact is greater when sanctioned by law, leading to a detrimental effect on colored children and depriving them of equal educational opportunities, thus violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Read the full opinion on CourtListener
Case brief last reviewed . Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.