The first half of the twentieth century of the United States was marked by segregation. This was not just a matter of black and white. In 1927, in Gong Lum v. Rice, a case decided that the definition of being colored is left to states, such that it can include, for example, immigrants from Asia. In Mendez v. Westminster (1947), it was ruled a violation of due process (14th Amendment) to have segregated education such that minority populations were systematically denied opportunities. Plessy, however, did not apply because there was no law requiring segregation in California.
Other attempts were made to overturn Plessy. The role of civil disobedience is well known in this country. The strategy of the NAACP, however, was to work within the system. They filed legal briefs and made oral arguments before judges. They had two main strategies: equalization and anti-segregation. The goal of the first was to remove systemic inequalities such as salary disparities. The second goal was to overturn segregation laws.
World War II played a large role in changing attitudes about civil rights. There was a strong disgust against Nazi racism. Also, many northerners were stationed in the South and experienced a new level of segregation, which seemed unjust to Northerners who experienced more freedom and equality in the North. Also, black Southerners left the South and went to more open places, such as California and the North. Also, many black Americans served in the Army. The Cold War rhetoric used to demonize USSR made people feel hypocritical to see such injustices in a country claiming to be morally superior to other world powers.
An important part of the NAACP's rhetoric is to show that intangible factors such as reputation of the school are important for determining if a school is truly equal to another. How does this translate into a case about K-12 education?
In 1954, the plaintiff's claim in the case Brown v. BoE is that the schools for African American schools are unequal and thus violate the 14th Amendment. A key issue was the intention of the original amendment (285). Ultimately, it was decided that the intention is unclear. As such, the judicial branch is granted the power to treat the Constitution as a living, evolving document. The judge (Earl Warren) considered the role of public education in the current time rather than its role in the previous century (286). The current function of education was deemed to be necessary for basic civil duties and is the foundation of good citizenship. As such, everyone should have equal access to quality education. Warren also noted intangible factors relevant to K-12 education include being denied access to peers (287). Simply being treated differently is an intangible factor that effects how one perceives oneself. Separate, ultimately, was deemed to be unequal (287).
Brown was seen to overturn Plessy not based on legal reasons but based on the evidence about the reasonableness of segregation. New evidence was brought to light in Brown that was not considered and/or available in Plessy (290-1). This new evidence was the psychological damage of segregation.
There are many ways to interpret the law. In the Plessy majority decision, the structure and form of the law was the focus. In Harlan's dissent, he focused on intention of the law. In Brown, the consequences of the law were more important in the decision (287).
After Brown there was the task of integrating schools. The court called for "all deliberate speed". In 1957, the governor of Arkansas refused to integrate schools. Eisenhower sent federal troops to enforce the legal decision. We have progressed significantly since then. There is no longer any de jure segregation or legal segregation. There is, however de facto segregation, or segregation in practice. Affirmative action is the requirement to take race into account in order to make sure that our workplaces and schools are representative of our larger demographics.
One case relevant to this is Regents of Univ. of Calif. v. Bakke (1978). Bakke was a white student denied admission to UC medical school. He claimed that underrepresented minorities were granted preferential treatment, thereby unfairly denying him opportunities. The court was very divided on this issue. 5 justices said race can be taken into consideration as one factor to determine who is granted admission but there cannot be a quota to be filled. 4 justices claimed that admissions processes should be entirely color blind. Proposition 209 in CA imposed such a standard.
No comments:
Post a Comment