Brown v Board of Education Reaction

 Brown v Board of Education was a case brought against the state of Kansas. It said that state-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. 

On the side of Brown, Kayla gave the historical overview. She said, “The American population was experiencing an economic boom. The court challenged separate but equal, the civil rights movement was happening, and the Cold War had begun”. 

Gabbie gave the moral argument. She said, “The separate but equal mindset is unjust. Our country should be united but segregation does not do that”. 

Josh gave the religious argument. He said. “It is clear why we should integrate schools. We should no longer have segregated schools, god made everyone equal, unity is a spiritual relationship, and the continuation of segregated schools is an insult to our belief”. 

Grace-Ann talked about the economy. She said, “It costs more to have two of everything for schools, only half the tax money goes to schools so it creates worse conditions for students. It is more beneficial to integrate the schools, and every student deserves a blue-ribbon education”.

Brad gave the legal argument. He said, “Separate but equal is a flawed statement, it violates the 14th amendment. Black schools are of consistently lower quality than white ones, white students are 4x more likely to graduate high school than black students”.

The team of lawyers for Brown gave a very compelling argument.

On the side of the Board of Education in the state of Kansas, Lindsey gave a historical overview. She said, “There was a separate but equal doctrine. Brown vs Board started with one girl who was denied access to white schools the father sued and it went to the Supreme Court. There is nothing in the 14th Amendment that stops the states from segregating places and people”. 

Lucy gave the moral argument. She said, “Black children have been exposed to more illness and violence. The white children may not have been exposed to all of that, you have to look at how the kids were raised. The white students who graduated high school would most likely go to college unlike black students, so we should keep the school segregated”. 

Johnathan gave the economic argument. He said, “If schools are mixed it could harm the white students, and the black students would slow down the learning process for everyone. If schools were desegrated there would be a cutdown on teachers. It is important for the economy since it gives black people a job that they might not have if everything was desegregated”.

Abby said, “The constitution did not require the integration of schools. Segregation was not harmful to black people”.

Elliot gave the legal argument. He said, “The main topic is whether or not the segregation of our schools is unconstitutional. Are black students allowed to receive an education? yes, they are, so how is segregation unconstitutional?”

Both sides gave very compelling arguments to support their team.