Segregation: Seperate but Equal Essay -- Brown v. the Board of Educati

Linda Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas advocated the need for change in America in the mid 20th century. America was a country in turmoil, after many futile efforts to make social change had failed but Linda Brown’s groundbreaking case pushed America in the right direction. At the heart of the problem was segregation. Segregation is the act of separating a certain person or faction from the main group. In America’s case segregation was practiced on minorities such as African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. The full force of segregation was brought down on African-Americans. Segregation was based on shear hatred of blacks by white Americans. The majority of them derived their hatred for African-Americans from their parents. This hatred was applied to all aspects of black people’s lives, they couldn’t do the most mundane activity without some sort of segregation. Everything from water fountains to public schools were under the influence of segregation. In Linda Brown’s case, the problem wasn’t a water fountain but a school. Linda was black third-grader living in Topeka, Kansas, caught right in the middle of racial discrimination. To get to her black elementary school each day, Linda had to trek a mile from her home through a railroad switch-yard, even though there was a white elementary school seven blocks away. Her father, Oliver Brown tried to enroll her in the white elementary but was rejected because of her race. After his daughters refusal into the school, Oliver reached out to McKinley Burnett, the head of Topeka’s branch of the NAACP. The NAACP jumped at the opportunity to help the Brown’s because they had long waited for a chance to challenge segregation in public schools.(Cozzens) The Bro... ...ruled that they would monitor school boards until they showed plans towards full compliance and followed those plans. Works Cited Cozzens, Lisa. "Brown v. Board of Education." www.watson.org. N.p., 29 Jun 1998. Web. 24 Oct 2011. . (Cozzens) "Brown v. Board of Education." www.pbs.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct 2011. ("www.pbs.org") Kansas Historical Society , . "Brown v. Board of Education." www.kshs.org. N.p., Sep 2011. Web. 24 Oct 2011. . (Kansas Historical Society ) "U.S. Supreme Court." www.findlaw.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct 2011. . ("www.findlaw.com")