Brown Vs. the Board of Education

"Brown vs. the Board of Education" is a series of court cases that concluded in the judicial decision by the Supreme Court to desegregate schools in 1954. It was not the first time that law suit was filed for this issue, but it was the first that was successful. One of the cases was formally called "Oliver L. Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka (KS)." Oliver L. Brown was a minister in Topeka, Kansas. His eight-year-old daughter was denied access to a local white school, so Brown took the issue to the Supreme Court. He got help from the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall, a black lawyer from Howard University who later became a Supreme Court Justice. They also took similar cases from South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. These cases were collectively known as Brown vs. the Board of Education. One of arguments the prosecutors utilized was the 14th Amendment, the law that guarantees equal protection of the laws. Before these cases, there was the policy that blacks and whites will remain separated, but equal. This did not work out because the different schools did not get the same materials to work with. Compared to white schools, black schools were shabbier and more outdated with less experienced teachers and equipment (books) that were in bad condition. After the Supreme Court's decision to desegregate schools, white schools then had to accept black students into their student body. Needless to say, not a lot of people liked this, but it was the law. The president had to deploy the army at one time to keep people from preventing blacks to enter school. This court decision was a great step for the Civil Rights Movement, but it still had a ways to go.
If this decision was made in "To Kill A Mockingbird" before Scout entered school, then a lot of things would have been different. Blacks may have been in Scout's and Jem's class. The teacher may have ignored them, but the students would not. They may beat up some of the black kids, and maybe Scout would have had a word or two about that. Some of the white kids may have been fascinated by the blacks and be friends with them. They would in turn be ridiculed by the other kids and leave or stay as true friends. The latter is more possible. Scout would surely not mind a black friend if given the opportunity in her first year of school. Jem would be harder to convert, but he would have gone along with it eventually. Some black families may have been bold enough to move into Maycomb County, but they would be constantly harassed. Maybe, Tom Robinson's case may have not been so hopeless as peoplw would have been exposed to the true nature of black people; that they are simply human beings. These are all "what-if" situations that are pointless compared to what actually happens, but people can always wonder if things could have been made fairer sooner.

http://brownvboard.org/summary/
http://brownvboard.org/foundation/teachingbrown/videos/index.php
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/brown-v-board/bios.html