This article examines the historical relationship between political power and the pursuit of education and social equality from the Reconstruction era to the present. The chief argument is that education equality is historically linked to and even predicated on equal political power, specifically, equal access to the franchise and instruments of…

The advent of critical race theory (CRT) in legal scholarship changed the way in which legal scholars think about race and racism in at least three ways. First, CRT scholars argue that the problem of racial justice is fundamental to American law, whereas the previous generation of civil rights scholars saw racial justice as a problem of…

Background: Over the past decade, courts increasingly have considered cases that involve clashes between public, secular private, and religious institutions in education. Such clashes appear to have intensified as recently as the 2019-2020 Supreme Court term, and the confirmation of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Court in 2020 suggests…

Much of the country has participated in the 50th anniversary celebration of "Brown v. Board of Education," a decision handed down by the Supreme Court on May 17, 1954. This historic, landmark, controversial, and revolutionary case nullified and reversed so much of the content, character, and spirit of American constitutional history,…

This book analyzes the two basic constitutional problems in the Brown vs. Board of Education case--how the Constitution prohibits racial segregation, and what can be done under the Constitution to enforce this prohibition. The roles of the justices, interpretations of the Constitution and relevant amendments, the impact of the decision, and…

Voluntary efforts to promote racial integration in K-12 schools have met strong resistance from the courts in recent years, despite the long history of court involvement in desegregation litigation. Race-conscious policies have invoked both the integration ideals stemming from Brown v. Board of Education and the diversity rationale in higher…

The appellate argument of Paul Wilson, who represented the Topeka, Kansas, school board in the 1952 Supreme Court case, "Brown v. Board of Education," presents an excellent example of the influence of personal and legal ethics on rhetorical choices. A reluctant advocate of racially segregated education, a policy the Topeka Board of…

Discusses ways in which the Brown decision challenged the liberal concept of judicial restraint and the idea that law simply reflects social forces. Considers the constitutional role of the Supreme Court, particularly in addressing social and economic inequalities among races and classes rather than among individuals. (GC)

On May 17, 2004, the United States will observe the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. By invalidating the doctrine of "separate but equal" in the field of public education, a doctrine that had been approved by the same court nearly sixty years earlier in Plessy…

This unit focuses on the school integration case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (Kansas), and its immediate aftermath. The Supreme Court's 1954 decision was a catalyst for civil rights activism along a broad front over the ensuing decades. The decision and its implementation have stood as a model for similar social and political action…

Background/Context: The Supreme Court's June 2007 decision on the Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (PICS) provides an important context for school districts and educational policy makers as they consider the role of race in school assignment. The PICS decision has been described as essentially…

Outlines class activities to help students understand how the U.S. Supreme Court reaches its decisions and how the decisions change over time. Includes objectives, resources, issues and questions, procedures, and evaluations. Suggests that students will learn the facts and issues of important civil rights cases and form opinions on the decisions.…