Progressive Transformation of the US Discriminatory Laws - Essay Example

Brown VS the Board of Education Even after the declaration of freedom in the United s, many elements of racial segregation persist in the United States. At the declaration of freedom, the idea that all men are created equal was enforced to support the government’s commitment to establish a racially fair society. However, there was evidence of discrimination in transport, education, social services in terms of race, colour and even culture. During the period of Jim Crow Laws in America, the law required that the whites and African Americans receive separate but equal treatment. As a result, the white could not attend the same schools as the black Americans. Through a series of legal cases related to segregation, the law has changed making it tolerable for all the races of America. For instance, the case of Brown versus the board of education quested for racial integration in the learning environment. Although this has not eliminated segregation in the United States, it is clear that there has been a paradigm in social integration. Notably, it was a slow painful process, it took years for schools to become fully integrated and while Brown offered the promise and hope for better educational opportunities for African American children, racial discrimination continued for many years after the decision and educational opportunities for minorities still lag behind. In the history of America, segregation is a topic that has generated a lot of heat within the public. Being a multicultural environment, racial discrimination was evident at all levels within the public. Prior to independence, racial discrimination manifested as slavery in the United States. The African Americans were considered an inferior race whose role was to serve as slaves within the society. There were no laws that regulated racial prejudice and many African Americans suffered from their white counterparts. In the eve of independence, the government declared that “all people were created equally” to express its commitment to start a new era where discrimination would be inevitable. However, this principle of equality did not take effect and slavery continued only to be abolished during the civil war of America. However, slavery was just one of the manifestations of racial prejudice as many other aspects of discrimination manifested in the public sector. The Africans had no right to a decent life and their voices were suppressed within the society (Tushnet 45-70). Racial discrimination was manifested on the lines of education, social services, transport and access to public services. The declaration of freedom was an opening for the war against racial prejudice. A number of laws were developed in effort to bridge the gap that existed between the Whites and the Black Americans. Typically, the establishment of the Jim Crow Laws ushered a new era of different forms of racial discrimination. The Jim Crow Laws required that African Americans and the Whites be treated equally but separate. The implication of this law was that the Black and the Whites receive equal treatment but on different spaces. The two races could not share the same means of transport, learning environment or any other public service. People were distinguished by colour and race as the government offered these services on this basis. Majority of the black Americans felt that these laws were unjust and demanded equal treatment. Evidently, the level of standards in the education sector differed considerably. The White children learnt in standard academic environments whereas the Black children learnt in sub-standard schools. This differential treatment sparked protest from many minority groups and the social activists felt that the war to a fair society was still underway (Ogletree 48). The Jim Crows Laws were not an end to racial discrimination but a new shape of racial disparities. A case that sparked the war against the Jim Crows Law is the case of Plessy versus Ferguson in the US Supreme Court. This case emerged after Homer Plessy, A Black American refused to give up his seat for a white, Ferguson, as the Louisiana State Law required. Following this fall out, Plessy was arrested for breaking that required the separation of Whites seats and Blacks seats in all forms of transport. Plessy moved in court to challenge the law contending that the law was against the right of equal protection (Conaway 45). In the US Supreme Court, the judges ruled against Plessy declaring that his action was against the Jim Crows laws. However, this case raised the question of equality and challenged the judges to provide a new definition of equal protection laws. Plessy’s reasoning was that separate treatment of the African American was a manifestation of another level of discrimination. However, since his case did not win in the court of law, the court continued to uphold the Jim Crow Laws despite the fact that many African Americans perceived them as unjust. On the same not, other minority groups such as the Chinese continued to suffer discrimination on various platforms. Prior to the case of Brown versus the board of education, there were other court cases that paved way for this case. The Jim Crow Laws were unfair and often friction occurred as many the blacks and whites struggled to for equal treatment. A number of human rights activist bodies emerged to fight against the discriminatory laws. For instance, the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) spearheaded the abolition Jim Crows Laws and other laws that discriminated the minority groups in the United States. This movement was particularly concerned with developing a strategy to attack the discriminatory law in the education sector. NAACP leader, Houston, felt that the education was the weakest point that the Jim Crows Laws would feel. Between, 1935 and 1938, NAACP launched a severe attack to Jim Crow Laws in an effort to impact devolution in the education sector (United States Courts Para. 5). This body filed a number of court cases, challenging unequal distribution of resources within the education sector. Their argument was that the White race was treated as superior while the black race served as the underdog. With a great support from the black race, NAACP remained persistent in the long war against racial discrimination. A series of court cases filed shows the long struggle to NAACP to eject sanity in the US learning environment. In 1936, Thurgood Marshall, one of NAACP leaders challenged the US laws regarding admission of student in Universities (United States Courts Para. 7). In this case, a black student, Murray, would not be admitted in Maryland School of Law because the race policy in the institution required that only whited apply in this school. Moving into the Maryland court, Marshall stated that since Murray was as qualified as the Whites he had the right for equal treatment as stated by the Jim Crows laws. He added that the student deserved admission because the African society needed lawyers and that there were no schools of this class that were available for Africans. Marshall won in this case and Maryland School of Law admitted Murray following a court order. This case paved way for the abolishment of admission in schools and allowed racial integration in the learning environment. In another case, Missouri ex real Gaines versus Canada, the NAACP legal body fought for the rights of Gaines to be admitted to Missouri Law School which was an exception of the law. This series of court cases influenced the racial integration of African Americans and American in the learning environment. The NAACP Legal Defence and Education Fund were behind the case of Brown and Board of Education. This was a group of five cases that fought against the state laws that allowed segregation of the blacks in the learning environment. Most of these cases were defeated as the local courts supported the board of education. However, the NAACP leaders appealed in the Supreme Court allowing for a second hearing of the cases. In the Supreme Court, the judges consolidate the five cases and judged them on the ground of the law of equal protection of the people. The argument of the NAACP was that the separation of learning environments on the basis of race was against the principle of equality brought forward in the law. When the jury met in 1952 to look into this case, they regarded the matter as controversial and failed to agree on the matter (Anderson 45-62: United States Courts Para. 8). In 1954, under new leadership, the Supreme Court jury agreed that the segregation of African and America learning environment was unconstitutional. They also agreed to reverse the ruling on Plessy’s case, as one way of showing their new path towards racial desegregation. Although, the judges agreed that desegregation should take place in due speed, they understood the complexity of the process and provided a path towards desegregation. First, all institutions were required to drop all the racial policies to pave way for admission of Black students. An amendment was made to ensure that all the people were treated equally in the public sector. This was a new era that paved way for racial integration, and equal opportunities to access of public resources for everyone in spite of their race. Also, other minority groups such as the Chinese benefited from the law as they had for long lacked the right to fair treatment. However, this is a process that has not yet reached its climax (Allen 87). Racial stereotypes continued to dominate and the society was stuck to the notion that African Americans were inferior people with less potential than the Whites. This ruling of the court gave the minority groups in the United State not only the right to exploit their potential but also to fight discrimination on various levels of the society. In conclusion, the war against racial discrimination against racial discrimination has been long and punctuated by painful moments, but has given path for fair treatment of every child in US despite their racial orientation. Even after the declaration of equality after independence, the US laws did not provide a Launchpad for war against discrimination. The government enacted discriminatory laws such as the Jim Crows laws that provided for allowed the whites to be treated preferentially in the public sector. A series of legal cases have provided a slow but progressive transformation of the US discriminatory laws. The ruling of the Supreme court on the case of Brown versus the Education Board paved way for racial integration in the learning environment and put an end to the discrimination of minority groups in specific schools meant for the whites. However, this was not an end for the war against racial discrimination and the war continues today. Works Cited Allen, Danielle. Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown v Board of Education. 2004. Print. Anderson, Wayne. Brown V. Board of Education. The Case Against School Segregation. New York: Rosen Pub. 2004. print. Conaway, Judith. The Case for Integration. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books. 2006. Print. Ogletree, Charles J., Jr. (2004). All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on the First Half Century of Brown v. Board of Education. New York: W.W. Norton. Tushnet, Mark I dissent: Great Opposing Opinions in Landmark Supreme Court Cases. Boston: Beacon Press. (2008). Print. United States Courts. History of Brown versus Board of Education. 2013. Accessed from: < http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-involved/federal-court-activities/brown-board-education-re-enactment/history.aspx>[Accessed on 17th Mar, 2014] Read More