Kendra+B.

=**May 10, 2010 - Preliminary research**=

Please post the following items: ROUGH DRAFT The fight for civil rights was a huge movement that took place during the 1950’s and 60’s. African Americans were being discriminated against in every way possible. Many African Americans decided to take action against racial discrimination, and in the end, most of them got what they wanted: equality. One of the major issues that civil rights activists sought to end was the segregation of schools. African Americans all across the country were being denied access into predominately white schools because of the color of their skin. Although there were schools created for blacks to receive their education, that wasn’t enough. African Americans felt that it was their right to be able to attend the same schools as whites, be taught in the same classroom as whites, and ultimately have the same rights as whites. One of the most famous cases that took place in the United States that challenged the segregated school system was the //Brown v. Board f Education// case. The //Brown v. Board of Education// case definitely wasn’t the first time that segregated schools were challenged, but it was the most profound and had the most effect on how the school system changed. By examining past attempts to desegregate schools, the //Brown v. Board of Education// case, and the racial standards that are set in schools today, it is evident that even though de jure segregation doesn’t exist anymore, de facto segregation is still present in the school system. Even though the civil rights movement took off in the 1950’s and 60’s, attempts to desegregate schools go as far back to the late1800’s. In 1899, three individuals who go by the names of Cumming, Harper, and Ladeveze sued the Richmond County Board of Education in Richmond County, Georgia. In the //Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education// case, the plaintiffs argued that tax money that was to be used for educational purposes, was being used illegally because it was only being used to accommodate “white only” schools and so they refused to pay those taxes. Because this tax money was being used to support “white only” schools, the private African American high school was shut down. Richmond County claimed that the school was shut down because of economic reasons, not being able to fund the school. They also stated that there education institutions that students were able to use that provided equal rights for both whites and blacks. Needless to say, in the //Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education// case, the plaintiffs (Cumming, Harper, and Ladeveze), were unsuccessful in their attempt to create a racially equal school system. In 1938, the first break in creating an equal educational system finally came. In the //Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada// case, Lloyd Gaines, an African American law student was denied access into the University of Missouri because of this race. Instead, his tuition was paid and he was forced to attend Lincoln University, a black college which had no law school at the time. This was the first case that stated that segregation in universities wasn’t allowed and that this segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1948, another law student by the name of Ada Sipuel applied to the University of Oklahoma School of Law. The university had the only law school that was funded by taxpayer’s money at the time, which makes it undeniably racist that Ada Sipuel was denied access into the school even though she and her parents were taxpayers. Ada Sipuel decided to take the case to court and sue the University of Oklahoma. In the //Sipuel v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma//, Sipuel argued that being denied access to the university was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the end, the US Supreme Court came to the verdict that if there was a school system created for whites, then the same must be created for blacks and so Sipuel was granted access into the University of Oklahoma. In 1954, one of the most famous and profound cases that really paved the way for the desegregating of schools was the //Brown v. Board of Education// case. A little girl by the name of Linda Brown of Topeka, Kansas was forced to attend an all black school (more than 20 blocks away from her home), when her neighborhood school (only 4 blocks away from her home) refused to accept her as a student because of her skin color. Outraged, her parents decided to take action along with the help of well known attorney, and civil rights activist Thurgood Marshall and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Together, they got together a group of 13 parents from all over the country to defend their 20 children that were all denied access to white schools. Not only did the //Brown v. Board of Education// case seek to challenge racially discriminating schools, it also challenged the way African Americans were being treated in society as a whole. This was a way for civil rights activists to put an abrupt end to discrimination and segregation among African Americans. Thurgood Marshall did an excellent job in proving segregated schools to be unconstitutional. He stated that having segregated schools not only violated equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment, it also made African American children feel belittled and feel like whites ranked higher on the social scale. His goal was to ban segregation in schools and at the same create a brighter future for black children. However, even though Marshall had great reason for desegregating schools, the jury still wasn’t sure about the decision to end segregation in schools. After more than two years of uncertainty, the day of justice finally came. On May 17, 1954, US Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the verdict that racially segregating schools and denying students access to schools because of race was unconstitutional and indeed violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Still not accepting that a major change was soon to come, many people challenged the Supreme Court’s decision and wanted the Supreme Court to give them a full plan of how the desegregating of schools was going to occur. The Supreme Court declared that desegregation would be done at a diligent speed. The //Brown v. Board of Education// case paved the way for desegregation in its legal form, but not so much for the way society works itself out. De jure segregation is segregation that is required by the law. Although De jure segregation is no longer an issue, de facto segregation is a major issue that people seem to look over majority of the time. De facto segregation is segregation that isn’t required by law, but by “fact”. De facto segregation happens when there is a neighborhood that has a majority race and the majority of the students that attend the school are apart of that majority neighborhood race. For example, in a predominately African American neighborhood, majority of the students that attend the neighborhood school are going to be black. Same goes for schools with the majority white, Latino, etc.

a. Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education - 1899 - Cumming felt that the system was illegal because there was a "whites only" school system - high school that was opened for blacks only was closed in 1897 by the board of education. b. Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada - the law schol at the University of Missouri denied Llyod Gaines admission because he was black. -US Supreme Court decided that if there was an education system provided for whites, then one would have to be established for blacks also. c. Sipuel v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma - Ada Sipuel applied to University of Oklahoma as a law student and was denied admission because of her race. - state of Oklahoma came tot he decison that if there was a school for whites, then there must be a school for blacks. a. background b. the actual case c. outcome of the case a.the elimination of de jure segregation b. de facto segregation
 * Outline**
 * I. Past attempts to desegregate schools**
 * II. Brown v. Board of Education Topeka, Kansas**
 * III. Present school system**

By examining past attempts to desegregate schools, the Brown v. Board of education case, and the racial standards that are set in schools today, it is evident that even though de jure segregation doesn't exist anymore, de facto segregation is still present in schools.
 * Working thesis statement:**

By examining the effects that segregation had on the black community, the many attempts to end segregation, and the outcome of the Brown vs. Board of education case, it is evident that the Brown vs. Board of Education trial was a major milestone for African American in the struggle to end racial discrimination.


 * Working bibliography:**

1800s, The Late. "Documents Related to Brown v. Board of Education." //National Archives and Records Administration//. Web. 09 May 2010. []. "All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on ... - Books." //Google//. Web. 09 May 2010. []. "Brown v. Board of Education: a Brief ... - Books." //Google//. Web. 09 May 2010. []. "Brown v. Board of Education: a Civil ... - Books." //Google//. Web. 09 May 2010. []. "Brown v. Board of Education." //LII | Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School//. Web. 09 May 2010. []. "Brown vs. Board of Education - Background Overview and Summary." //Brown versus Board of Education / Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research//. Web. 07 May 2010. []. "Brown vs. Board of Education - Background Summary." //Brown versus Board of Education / Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research//. Web. 07 May 2010. []. "Civil Rights: Brown v. Board of Education I (1954)." //National Center for Public Policy Research - A Conservative Organization//. Web. 09 May 2010. []. "Formatted Document - ProQuest." //WebFeat Proxy//. Web. 09 May 2010. [].