Brown v. Board of Education

Today, our class had a mock trial where Brown faced off against The Board of Education. Professor Smith began the trial with the facts that were agreed upon by both parties. He said that the case is the culmination of four similar cases coming out of Topeka Kansas. Brown is here to challenge the Board of Education for their segregated schools on the basis of the 14th Amendment– equal protection clause.

The first group, Brown, went over the moral, religious, legal, and economic issues against the segregated schooling system in Topeka, Kansas. The moral argument that stood out to me is how segregated schooling will cause anger, low self esteem, and a feeling of inferiority that will further divide the nation. In the religion argument, a bible verse from Galatians said that there is "no slave nor free, no male nor female," and that we're all "one in Christ, Jesus." The law argument called for the 14th Amendment to be interpreted exactly as it was written– for all citizens and not only whites. The economic argument mentioned how black schools are very far from the community, and as a result blacks have to pay more for transportation. It was mentioned how in white schools, infrastructure is better and there are more teachers/materials. This is not "separate but equal."

The second group, The Board of Education, most strongly argued from the Plessy v. Ferguson case. This was an effective argument because the court wants to stand by their past decisions.

To end the trial, Professor Smith summed up all the arguments used on both sides, and expressed how huge of a case this is for America. He mentioned how overturning a long-standing precedent is not easy– that the court doesn't like it. But in this case, the court ruled in favor of Brown, striking down Plessy v. Ferguson, and desegregating schools everywhere.