19.1.3

Brown v. Topeka

Test yourself

The Brown v. Topeka Case 1954

NAACP combined five cases that had failed to argue against school desegregation, and took them to the Supreme Court in ‘Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas’.

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The case of Brown v. Topeka

  • NAACP combined five cases that had failed to argue against school desegregation, and took them to the Supreme Court in ‘Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas’.
  • They argued that even with equal provision and facilities, being segregated from white students made black children feel inferior.
  • They argued that 'separate but equal' therefore broke the 14th Amendment.
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The judges

  • During the case, a pro-segregation judge died and was replaced with an anti-segregation judge called Earl Warren who became Chief Justice, meaning he led the Supreme Court.
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The verdict of Brown v. Topeka

  • On 17th May 1954, the Supreme Court said schools ruled Plessy unconstitutional and schools were told to desegregate.
  • However, it didn’t say when they had to do this by, so schools could avoid desegregating.
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Brown II

  • In May 1955 Brown II ruled that all states should make a ‘prompt and reasonable start’ on desegregation, but still didn’t give a deadline.

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1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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