Brown v. Board of Education and the Role of the Supreme Court
Brown v. Board of Education
During the 1960s and 1970s, a lot of turmoil existed in the United States due to race relations and segregation. African American citizens were upset with segregation laws, especially the segregation of public schools. Eventually, several lawsuits were combined into one case by the NAACP and brought in front of the Supreme Court. The ruling in this case would forever change American society. In this interactivity, learn about the Brown v. Board of Education case. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Oliver Hill
Oliver Hill, a Richmond, Virginian native, was at the forefront of the NAACP’s legal team in the state of Virginia. Hill made many contributions as a successful civil rights attorney. He won important cases to help African American teachers receive equal pay. Hill also contributed to the desegregation of Virginia schools by encouraging that African American students be bussed from their neighborhoods to the closest school. Oliver Hill was an important figure in the fight to end the “separate but equal” doctrine.
Hill practiced law for sixty years before his retirement in 1998. Among the many accolades of his career, Hill was given the Lawyer of the Year award from the National Bar Association and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Barbara Johns
As you learned about in the previous interactivity, the NAACP had a history of challenging segregation in the courts. In Virginia, Barbara Johns, a sixteen-year-old African American student, felt frustrated by the poor conditions in which she was learning. As a junior in high school, she organized fellow students, and led them in a strike for equal learning conditions with the local white school. During the strike, she and her peers sought legal assistance from the NAACP, which agreed to help in exchange for the students suing for an integrated school system instead of the original equal facilites request. Led by Oliver Hill, Sr., the NAACP legal team in Virginia filed Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County in federal court. The court upheld segregation, but the NAACP appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
Role of the Supreme Court after Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court cases arise when the constitutional rights of American citizens are violated. In the 1950s, the “separate but equal” doctrine was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case. This landmark case revoked the decisions made by the Supreme Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. The Brown v. Board of Education case forever changed the dynamics of American society. In this interactivity, explore how the role of the Supreme Court changed after Brown v. Board of Education. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Brown v. Board of Education and the Role of the Supreme Court Review
Now that you have completed your investigation of Brown v. Board of Education and the role of the Supreme Court, complete this activity to test your knowledge. Click the player button to get started.