“Segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of race, pursuant to state laws permitting or requiring such segregation, denies to Negro children the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.” This was the first line to one of the most significant and influential cases in United States civil rights history: Brown v. Board of Education. First erupting in the early 1950’s, African American civil rights debates consumed the news of Americans. In Topeka, Kansas, a third-grade school girl named Linda Brown was disallowed to attend a white school, sparking much tension between the majority whites and the minority blacks. When the case was decided in 1954 by the Supreme Court, it was ruled that the racial segregation "...violates the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of the laws...”. This court ruling was a landmark event to African Americans nationwide, as it overturned the previously stated “separate but equal” policy. Although the decision was amid much controversy and turmoil throughout the nation, it was truly a historic event for the United States in its years to come.
The case of Brown v. Board of Education was very influential to Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. If the ruling would have occurred earlier in United States history, then the book, set in the 1930’s would not have been the same. Harper Lee was able to write her novel in the ‘60s, immediately after the ruling and still amid racial tension. If Brown v. Board of Education had taken place just a few decades earlier, then there probably would not have been such racial discrimination as late in American history as the ‘60s. The case would have died down by the time Lee wrote TKAM, and therefore segregation and racism would not have been such a beating issue at the time of the novel’s release. The timing of the court case was imperative to the writing of To Kill A Mockingbird and to American civil rights for years to come.
Sources:
http://brownvboard.org/summary/
http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=347&invol=483
I agree that the story would be totally different. If there was not any segregation then the story would never have happened. There would not have been the trials and the idea of racism. I think that if they had made the ruling earlier then the whole history of the US would be changed. There might not have been a Martin Luther King Jr., or anything people like that.
ReplyDeleteWow, this post really blew me away. You have so much information on the case and I really like your use of quotes, dates and places. It is interesting that although it says "separate" but equal" that really was not the case at all. It would be quite appealing to see how the plot of To Kill A Mockingbird would have differed if the case had been resolved later on. One of the things that make Harper Lee such a great writer is that she was able to take an event that occurred and intertwine it into her novel so that they would mirror each other in many ways.
ReplyDeleteBennett you have never been so right, I agree it does create a huge controversy, it is a good thing that the supreme court has ruled the segregation of schools to be unconstitutional and is a major step forward to developing equality between people of different races. I agree with you even more, the fact that racism can be seen around the time of the court case the relative closeness of the publication of TKAM affects her sory deeply, good analysis!
ReplyDeleteI liked your approach on Brown vs. Board of Education. It is a shame that someone could not have had the gall to bring this issue to the Supreme Court until Oliver Brown did. It is great that he did, because if he did not, then we might have never given African Americans the rights they deserved
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