School Integration: Brown Vs. Board Of Education Case

8 May 2008
School Integration “When children can play together, as black and white children do, I see no reason why it would poison them to go to school together” (Flournoy). This statement by Flournoy was one of the leading thoughts in the road to school integration. While all African Americans fought for integration, some went through harsh treatment, violence, and a difficult struggle when trying to integrate schools. Integrating schools was an important role in the path to desegregation. It cleared the way for desegregation throughout the whole country. The violence they had to overcome in order to fight for school integration was extremely harsh. It is surprising they kept fighting when constantly they were shut down by white
Board of Education case was brought about the Supreme Court, they were presented the question “Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority of equal educational opportunities?” During the case, Thurgood Marshall attacked segregation by noting that minority students are made to feel inferior and feelings of inferiority damage self-esteem. With racial integration, the students would have an opportunity to interact with people who are “different” from them and the feeling of inferiority would lessen (Greene). Another belief was that racial integration would help the students become more tolerant of racial differences. The whites disagreed with this, though. They were more resistant to school desegregation than anything else. They absolutely did not want their children going to school with black children (Klarman 23). Although the whites protested, the Supreme Court made a ruling that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place” (Reutter 111). The students were then able to attend and be bused to their nearest school, but in most areas, blacks lived in the city and whites lived in the suburbs, so many children continued to attend segregated schools (Morrison
Little Rock 9 then became a “test.” This was the beginning of school integration. On September 23, 1957, Elizabeth Eckford and eight other African Americans attempted to enter Little Rock Central High School. A white protest group outside the school threw stones at cars, assaulted them, and threatened their lives. The Arkansas National Guardsmen watched as the students were assaulted and the guardsmen then turned the students away. The students still did not give up. They went through the side door secretly to register for classes, and protestors found out and exploded into violence. The students were once again forced to leave. They returned the next day protected by the United States Army troops, who President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent. Although the students were now able to attend the school, the violence and protesting did not end. Throughout the school year, the Little Rock 9 faced physical and verbal assaults from white students. Students also faced harsh death threats to them and to their families. Minnijean Brown was expelled for fighting back against the white students who abused and threatened her (School