Educational Opportunities Availability

To put an end to Plessy v. Ferguson and provide the ruling that permitted racial segregation of black school-going children and provided them with various opportunities despite the fact that they had similar qualities and capabilities, the Brown v. Board case was brought for hearing in the Supreme Court of the United States. This cruel practice ultimately resulted in a breach of the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. Racial segregation had been an issue for many years before it was brought to light by the amendment law that was enacted as a result of the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling. Ferguson’s case that further argued that the separate facilities were equal in terms of transportation, buildings, salaries of teachers, capabilities, and educational opportunities and, therefore, did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment that claimed that no state shall deny any individual the equal protection.

The plaintiffs in Brown did not agree with this idea. Hence, they developed a movement to resist and utterly condemn the racism. This notion was greatly influenced and motivated by UNESCO’s movement titled “The Race Question” that targeted to eliminate the racism of the minorities. Research that was carried out during that time by educational psychologists and the doll test also played a significant role since it showed the adverse effects of segregation of black school-going children. This practice negatively impacted the state’s international image and adversely affected its relations with other countries, for example, India. People from the United States who visited India could not interact appropriately with their respective colleagues due to the fact that they encouraged racial discrimination; therefore, they were not welcomed into India because this inhuman act impacted negatively the lives of young school-going blacks who were supposedly meant to play a pivotal role in the future generation.

Segregation as a primary practice in state schools denied the black school-going children equal protection of the law despite the fact that all the physical facilities such as transportation and building were comparable. It is evident in a situation where the elementary schools that belong to the blacks were located far away from their areas of resident whereas the special schools for the whites were located just a few miles from their homes. The blacks were denied the enrollment in schools situated in the neighborhood because the latter belonged to the whites, and it was clearly evident where a parent who had come to request for the enrollment was sent away from the school premises because the school was specifically for the white children. The black people were thereby being forced to walk for longer distances from their respective homes in order to reach the various bus stations and take further long roads to obtain their elementary education.

The previous amendment was inconclusive, and there existed many distinctions between whites and black children. For example, the blacks’ schools were supported by the general taxation whereas schools for white children were catered for by private institutions. It enhanced the unequal funding in the elementary schools; thus, it provided poor educational opportunities for blacks in contrast to the better funding in state schools for the whites with better organization of their education. Most black schools were also ungraded with the unspecialized curriculum and did not consider the compulsory school attendance. With regards to this situation, the children lacked the urge and the motivation to go to school because of the absence of strict guidelines to ensure that all children were going to school as intended. The teachers employed in these schools were also unprofessional and did not have specialized schedules and curriculum to ensure the quality education to the children.

As a result of this situation, high levels of illiteracy among the black people emerged as many of them could not go to school because of the separation and also due to the fact that education of black people had been forbidden in some states. On the other hand, the school-going children were also not offered the equal opportunities as the whites, though they all portrayed similar qualities and capabilities.

Separation of the blacks from the whites with similar age and educational capabilities also created an environment in which the former felt inferior, and this affected their interaction with their peers, especially when it comes to sharing ideas and developing friendships. The motivation to learn was also negatively affected because of the lack of the educational benefits; hence, they had no reason to work harder.

The Brown v. Board of education thereby suggested that if the racial separation was abolished entirely, then all these challenges could have been solved, and this greatly influenced the plaintiffs to forge much ahead with their movement to curb this act. It then started in the form of five cases that had been taken to the Supreme Court for judgment where many parents volunteered as plaintiffs, and they served as witnesses because their children had experienced the racial segregation. It would then expand to a broader perspective and provide the urgent need to curb this amendment.

All the lower court cases ended in defeat as neither of them was able to abolish the laws that had been passed on segregation in schools. The various rulings suggested that all schools were substantially equal taking into consideration all the physical factors such as transport and buildings and were similar enough to meet Plessy’s amendment law. Even though the cases ended in defeat, there was still hope that there could be a better outcome upon the appeal.

The newly employed justice Warren who had joined the team of judges was one of the objects of change in this law because he was hugely convinced on this issue of segregation on the basis of laid arguments by Brown’s plaintiffs. It implied the hope of succession of this case because he stressed that the inhuman practice had to be eradicated entirely.

The plaintiffs took significant risks for the case to be promoted. As a result of having taken part in the movement to end the racial separation in schools, they have faced many negatives consequences. Most of them lost their jobs together with their families and had also to deal with financial issues because their credits were canceled. Some of their houses were burnt down. Some faced death threats, and this made them escape from the city forcefully as their lives were in danger.

Thurgood Marshall was, therefore, touched by this evil acts on the black people as it was not lawful, according to the Constitution. He was consequently thrilled to argue the case upon these plaintiffs. Brown v. Board was one of his court cases that had been brought before the Supreme Court that stated that the segregation had negative emotional effects on the children. He then carried out more research on the psychological studies of the affected groups in order to boost his argument in court. The case was then presented to the court to display the segregation with various convincing factors put into consideration to promote a unanimous decision of the justices, which did not still disseminate segregation, but all the psychological effects of this amendment were clearly stated. This ruling of the court put more pressure in order to find a solution to this particular problem that affected the black school-going children in terms of educational benefits and opportunities of capable ones.

A meeting of justices was after that held by Warren, and its primary goal was to convince the other justices to support this particular movement due to the various reasons and negative effects on public education that had arisen due to the previous amendment laws that had been passed in the United States. He made sure that all issues and opinions that were brought before the court were taken into consideration by each and every justice through a unanimous judgment in order to ensure the liberty of the state. All his efforts seemed to have succeeded because all the justices came to an agreement to upheld desegregation.

After the case hearing was completed, the ruling was conducted in his favor and the court was wholly convinced that such a segregation of schools was unconstitutional and did not abide by the Fourteenth Amendment law that focused on protecting the civil rights of the children in terms of equality of educational opportunities to be similar to that of the whites.

Marshal did not use his powers to enforce this ruling into action by all nations in the United States since the Supreme Court had not yet decided on the best way that could be used to implement the desegregation that had already been passed.

It increased the need to call for further discussions to find a way to employ the ruling after a unanimous decision was reached with strict guidelines to ensure that all school authorities incorporated the law into their respective school curriculum before the given time elapsed and also made sure that it was respected by all. Some states still delayed to put the law into action while others were closed because the particular personnel did not agree with desegregation and still believed in racial discrimination of schools. The children were, therefore, forced to go to the state schools that belonged to the whites. As a result; they had to bear the harassment that came from their peers and teachers.

Desegregation had now made advancements on a broader perspective to help the minorities, but some stares still did not agree with the judgment and even developed cases in the civil rights sector that were aimed at enforcing the re-segregation. The positive result was that approximately 90% of the total population was in line with the practice in order to find solutions to the problems that were faced earlier. The very particular states that did not agree with the law of desegregation complicated Brown's original mission since they started filling petitions to promote the re-segregation of schools. There was an increase in residential and educational segregation, and this left many blacks illiterate and poor, hence creating a negative impact on the growth and the development of the economy.

Apparently, it is quite evident that the segregation of black school-going children in the United States continued existing as an amendment law did not promote proper educational opportunities and benefits, especially among the blacks, and this was due to the inequalities in various sectors, for instance, funding, motivation, and enrollment. Thus, it made such groups grow in an inferior environment. As a result, several negative effects, for instance, improper brain development and high illiteracy levels, emerged. The Brown v. Board’s landmark decision came to display various positive results and led to the availability of similar educational opportunities for all children. This movement was widely practiced by most of the states, and it seemed to yield positive outcomes because most of the blacks were now educated and had succeeded in the professional world. Some of them also owned large businesses, and this marked an improvement in the economy of the United States as a whole.

In contrast, the whites still enroll in quality colleges as compared to the blacks and after that, complete at higher rates. The law of discretion has not been fully integrated into the system, and this renders Brown's mission incomplete. Current research in the United States’ education system shows that the racial segregation is still practiced by some states. Conclusively, cases have been filled in the court to uphold the re-segregation, and this situation suggests that the blacks cannot be handled in the same way as the whites. The former are also a major part in the country’s future generation, and in case of a large number of unprofessional and uneducated individuals in the nation, the economy will depreciate and the international image of the USA will be at risk. At the same time, if the majority of them do not obtain the specialized training, the highly impoverished society will emerge.

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