Education and civil rights

The confirmed by the in the 1890s, said that black and white Americans could be kept ‘separate but equal’. In education, this meant that as long as they could both go to a school, they were equal. In reality, this meant that schools for black Americans had much larger classes with far fewer resources. In states with schools (which were mostly in the South), black American children were not allowed to go to a school that was attended by white children, even if it was near to where they lived.

Brown v Topeka, Kansas

A significant court case that challenged segregated education involved a black American girl called Linda Brown, who lived in Topeka, in the state of Kansas. In 1951, her parents asked for her to be moved to the school that was nearest to where they lived. The local school board said she could not go there as the school was for white Americans only. Linda’s parents asked the for help and its lawyers took the court case all the way to the Supreme Court in Washington, DC. They argued that segregated education was damaging to black American children.

In May 1954, the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, ruled unanimously, that segregation in education went against the US This was an important victory for education, and it also gave activists an argument to use against in other settings.

We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.

— Earl Warren, chief justice of the Supreme Court in the ruling on the 1954 Brown v Topeka case

There was a lot of resistance to implementing the judgement in the southern states.
Sometimes politicians passed laws to try to stop it, and sometimes people used violence and intimidation.
By 1957, while there were 300,000 black children in schools, there were still 2.4 million in segregated schools.
By the 1970s, there were still black American children in segregated schools.

Little Rock High School

A photograph of Elizabeth Eckford walking as two women shout at her from behind — Figure caption,
Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, passing through a mob of people trying to stop her from going to Little Rock High School in 1957

Events at Little Rock High School in Arkansas convinced President Dwight D Eisenhower to take a more active role in supporting school integration.

Nine black American children tried to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. This was part of a campaign organised by Daisy Bates, president of the Arkansas NAACP group. Before this, no black students had attended the school. Orval Faubus ordered state troopers to stop these students from attending the school, saying that he was doing this for their own safety.

When the Little Rock Nine turned up for school, they were faced by an angry crowd of white Americans and trying to stop them. The children were escorted home by the police in full view of the media.

A photograph was taken of 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford being shouted at by a mob of angry people as she tried to pass through to Little Rock High School. This became one of the defining images of the civil rights campaign.

President Eisenhower tried to persuade Governor Faubus to back down and allow the students to attend the school. After riots escalated outside the school, Eisenhower sent in 1,200 to protect the children. They were finally able to attend the school. The troops stayed for a year but the Little Rock Nine still faced abuse inside and outside the school. Minnijean Brown, one of the Little Rock Nine, was expelled for reacting to the abuse she received.

Elizabeth Eckford arrived alone on her first day at school. She was surrounded by a mob who were loud and intimidating. Despite this she still atended when she was able — Figure caption,
Elizabeth Eckford

Minnijean Brown was bullied persistently by racist white students. She reacted by pouring chilli on one of the bullies. She was expelled when she was involved in an argument with a white student. — Figure caption,
Minnijean Brown

In 1958, Governor Faubus shut all schools in Arkansas to avoid having to desegregate them. The Supreme Court ordered him to reopen and desegregate all schools in Arkansas, although this did not begin until 1961. Schools in the state were not fully integrated until the 1970s.

The events at Little Rock were important because this was the first time a president had intervened in the desegregation of schools. The events also showed that the president and Supreme Court could overrule civil rights decisions made by states if they wanted to. Using the media to embarrass the government into action became an important element of future civil rights protests.

James Meredith and Ole Miss

Desegregation of universities took longer than it did in schools. In 1962, Ole Miss (a name given to the University of Mississippi) was ordered by the Supreme Court to allow James Meredith, a black American student, to study there. The state governor, Ross Barnett, had a law passed that barred any convicted criminals from attending university in the state - Meredith had a conviction for falsely registering as a voter.

President John F Kennedy sent 300 to protect Meredith after white American students at Ole Miss rioted. Later, 2,000 federal troops were sent in after there was further rioting. Meredith was protected by 300 state troopers until he graduated with a political science degree.

Black American students faced similar problems at universities in other southern states. However, they were able to attend and study as the law and the , through the example of James Meredith, were proven to be supportive of their attendance.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Freedom Rides

Civil rights during World War Two

Civil rights 1941-1970 - EduqasEducation and civil rights