According to U.S. Court Cases the segregation among whites and blacks was a legal law established for almost sixty years in the United States. However, Brown vs. The Board of Education was the turning point in race relations. Still, most of the conflict between whites and blacks would be in the south, because they where the largest racial minority. They were subject to laws and customs, which prevented from full participation in social life. As a matter of fact, many of the laws imposed on black were that of segregation in public schools (U.S. Court Cases 154). Yet, to understand the laws that were being questioned in the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education, one must look back to the beginning, to when laws were first set to limit the lives of African Americans.

With the experience of dealing with many court battles over racial discrimination, Marshall was known to be a verdant with segregation issues. As a matter of fact, according to U.S. Court Cases, he was anxious to demonstrate not only that segregation did not follow the demands of the Constitution of the United States but also that it may psychologically damage African-Americans, especially the children. In order to prove his point Marshall invited several prominent social scientists to study the situation in Topeka, Kansas, and to comment on the psychological impact of segregation. The groups stated, "Assigning a particular group to separate facilities identified this group as having a lower status than other people." (U.S. Court Cases157). Being exposed to segregation and being considered as inferior lowered the self-esteem of the group (157).

By December 9, Marshall and his assistants were prepared to present the most important case of their lives before the U.S. Supreme Court (59). Suddenly, as the NAACP attorneys were planning strategies for the argument for the Brown vs. The Board in September of 1953, Chief Justice Fred Vinson suffered a fatal heart attack. The death of this Chief Justice could not have come at a worse time, just as the Supreme Court was deciding the most important case of the century (68). Vinson's replacement was Earl Warren, the popular and well-respected governor of California. Warren had a good reputation for fairness and honesty.

In the summer or 1952, the NAACP's best legal minds gathered at the New York City offices of the organization's Legal Defense Fund. There Thurgood Marshall coordinated an intense four-month attempt to present the NAACP's argument for school desegregation. "Marshall pushed his associates through sixteen-hour days of research as the NAACP's lawyers prepared the legal briefs that would put forth their argument and the courtroom strategy that would attempt to convince the nine justices of the Supreme Court to rule in favor or the NAACP and outlaw segregation in public schools." (57+)

Finally, on May 6, 1896, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict. With a vote of seven to one, the Court maintained Plessy's conviction. Henry Billings, Associate Justice stated that meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment was "undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law... but could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based on color." (22) He continued by stating that the segregation of the two races did not mean to imply that either race was inferior to the other in any way. Brown then stated that all laws should be followed and upheld "for the promotion for the public good, and not for the annoyance... or a particular class." However, he added that a law demanding the division of races on public railways is no "more obnoxious to the Fourteenth Amendment than that acts of Congress requiring separate schools for colored children in the District of Columbia." (22) Finally Brown concluded his opinion by stating: "If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane." (23)

Warren then went on to say: "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine or 'separate, but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated are deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment." (74)

Next, the board used the example of many successful African Americans, who lived through the abolition of slavery, and segregated schools. They believed that segregated schools did not have any prejudicial effect on the children. However, the delusion in the argument was clear. Although some African Americans were capable of overcoming racial prejudice, the majority of African Americans are offered fewer opportunities as a result of segregation. As a matter

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Approximate Word count = 2962
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)