Although the Scottsboro trials was not a pivotal event in Black American history, it was an occasion which highlighted the severe injustice of the American legal system and prejudice that black Americans lived in. From 25th March 1931 when 9 black men allegedly gang raped two white girls on the Railroad from Chattanooga to Memphis, a numerous amount of trials, reversals and retrials occurred, the most in American history. Over the course of two decades the ‘Scottsboro boys’ were made celebrities by their struggle for justice by dividing Americas politics. The trials, which were originally conducted in front of an all white jury leading to 8 of the boys being sentenced to the death penalty, after they were represented by bias lawyers which made …show more content…
Commonly withheld as being ‘Separate but equal by the Plessy vs Ferguson doctrine, this was not true in schooling (and other social + political areas) where black schools were often poorly equipped, leading to ghettos of uneducated black Americans whom turned to crime. These separate and unequal schools were challenged in Brown vs Board of education which consisted of 5 separate cases that were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1952 concerning the issue of segregation in public schools. ‘Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Briggs v. Elliot, Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County (VA.), Boiling v. Sharpe, and Gebhart v. Ethel. ‘The main issues of these events was the constitutionality of state-sponsored segregation in public schools. On May 17, 1954, the Court unanimously ruled that "separate but equal" public schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. This led to an adaption of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, providing the equal protection clause which provided on the basis of Brown VS Board of education the dismantling of racial discrimination. The Brown case served as a catalyst for the modern civil rights movement, inspiring education reform everywhere and forming the legal means of challenging …show more content…
This state, known for its rigidly enforced Jim Crow laws and KKK, who had previously bombed 18 places in Alabama. Protests in Birmingham, known as ‘Project C’, were lead by Martin Luther King jnr and were aimed at being peaceful; to undermine the city's rigid segregation system. Sit ins , economic boycotts and meetings (inspired by the boycott in Montgomery) were held while trying to gain equality in Birmingham, however the pivotal moment occurred on 7th April when the Public safety commissioner Eugene Bull Connor reacted to non violent marchers by releasing dogs onto demonstrators and fire hosing them. Images and videos of this event featured globally in the media, consequently provoking outrage due to the sights of unarmed demonstrators who were non-aggressive being attacked by the police. These scenes stimulated a great deal of good by bringing international and national shame on Birmingham. Children were also later used in the Birmingham protests which led to further media humiliation when over a thousand 6-18 year olds got arrested daily, as well when protesters were attacked by those who were meant to maintain law and order. After JFK saw these images it is argued that his outrage lead to the key Significance of this event in making it a pivotal point in black American history is that it was the key event that sparked the legislation of the civil rights act in 1964
Scottsboro Trial Two young women is all it takes to create one of the most tragic epoch's of African-American history after the abolishment of slavery. When Victoria Price, and Ruby Bates decide to ride the rails to look for some incentive in their lives, they witness an opportunity to ruin nine young black boy's life. A fight broke out after a gang of white boys agitated, and tried to force a gang of black boys to jump off a train.
The Court declined his argument. The Court determined that the segregated schools were considerably equal enough under the Plessy doctrine. It wasn 't until the mid twentieth century when Brown v Board of Education came into play that Plessy’s argument was given the okay by the constitution. The Court tried to use Plessy v. Ferguson to deny the argument that Oliver Brown was giving during the Brown v. Board of Education case. Once the Courts decided that separating children by race could have an overall affect on the black children 's ability to learn.
Scottsboro Trials Racism played a part in the Scottsboro trial. According to Jack Schafer, racism is the intentional abuse of social custom and legislative power that prevents a race to make decision. Racism can happens for many reasons one is that people push other races down to gain higher status (Rutledge). Another reason people would discriminate against other races is to keep power over those people (Schafer). From the Scottsboro trails the reader can see both of these reasons.
The Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Board of Education 349 U.S 294, dealt with the segregation of black children into “separate but equal schools.” The Brown vs. Board of Education was not the first case that dealt with the separating of the whites and blacks in schools. This case was actually made up of five separate cases heard in the United States Supreme court concerning the issue of segregation in public schools. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Briggs v. Elliot, Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County (VA.), Boiling v. Sharpe, and Gebhart v. Ethel were the five cases that made up the Brown case. Thurgood, Marshall, and the National Association for the Advance of Colored People (NCAAP) handled these cases.
The Scottsboro Case: A landmark Case and Its Impact on Capital Punishment Cases America in the 1930s was a time of change. Racism was now being defended for in the court of law. One of the most remembered cases in 1931 occured on the railways, nine black men were falsely accused of raping two women riding the train. Why would nine black get the blame for the so-called “rape?” The Scottsboro Case was a landmark case in the state of Alabama that raised tensions about the issue of capital punishment.
The Civil Right movement was a broad and diverse effort to attain racial equality, compelled to the nation to live up to its ideal that all are created equal. The movement demonstrated that ordinary men and women could perform extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice to achieve social justice. The event of Brown v. Board of Education and advocates such as Thurgood Marshall and Rosa Parks greatly impacted the United States. Thurgood Marshall applied to the university of Maryland Law school, however he was turned down because he was and African American. Therefore he decided to go to Howard’s University an all black historical school.
White and black men could not eat together, use the same restroom, learn in the same school, sit together on the bus or even drink from the same water fountain, but they were supposedly equal. In the beginning, the Supreme Court heard five separate cases, all relating to segregation in the school systems of America. All these cases, however, were combined and labeled Brown v. Board of Education. Oliver Brown, father of Linda Brown and plaintiff, took his case to the court looking for justice for what his daughter was put through over an old, racist mindset. At first however, a three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court that heard the case, ruled in favor of the school board, saying that separate schools for white children and African American children presented “no willful, intentional or substantial discrimination” and was not in violation of the 14th Amendment.
Impact of Brown v. Board of Education In Topeka, Kansas in the 1950s, schools were segregated by race. In 1954 the Supreme Court decided to annul the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision and declared that “separate education facilities are inherently unequal”. Brown v. Board of Education was a turning point in the fight to end segregation and has impacted history greatly. Brown v. Board of Education sparked the Civil Rights Movement, made education equal, and established that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional.
The Board of Education was another important step in ensuring equality for African Americans. The main precedent of the case was, is “separate but equal” constitutional? The saying “Separate but equal” was established by the case Plessy v. Ferguson which allowed segregation between black and white people in schools. Linda Brown, who was at the center of the school's segregation battles says, “To me, the impact of Brown is best seen in the increasing numbers of black professionals today. These are the people that, after 1954, were able to have some degree of choice.”
Brown v. Board of Education The Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case was a very important case for Americans. This case was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in this court case changed majorly the history of race relations in the United States. On May 17, 1954, the Court got rid of constitutional sanctions for segregation by race, and made equal all education opportunities as the law of the land.
These cases include Briggs v. Elliot, Brown v. Board of Education, Bulah v. Country School Board of Prince Edward County, and Bolling v. Sharpe. These cases were brought from the jurisdictions of Virginia, Washington D.C., Delaware, South Carolina, and Kansas. No matter where the cases came from, the main point was they were all against the segregation in the public schools. The foundation for these cases was built from the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP) who consistently worked towards ending racial discrimination. Unfortunately these five court cases all ended in a loss.
Since the late 1950s, when the case for African American rights to receive the same education as their graduates began and ended, or so we thought. Schools today still remain widely segregated throughout the U.S. nation. In 1954 in Topeka, Kansas, the supreme court began to review many cases dealing with segregation in public education. Oliver Brown was one who went against the supreme court for not only his daughter, but for many other African American children to receive equal education in the ray of society. The Brown v. Board of Education case marked the end of racial discrimination in public schools which impacted African Americans to get an equal education in the American society.
During the mid nineteen thirties there was ample prejudice from whites towards African Americans. This prejudice was greatly depicted in one particular case of nine young black men. The Scottsboro Boys were labeled as outcasts and faced a considerable amount of prejudice during their trials for a crime they had not committed; although some of the nine Boys were exonerated during the trials, the last of the Scottsboro Boys were not redeemed until decades later. On March 25, 1931, during the height of the Great Depression, a group of nine black boys, later known as the Scottsboro Boys, was traveling on a train towards Memphis, Tennessee, in search of work.
5 Brown v. Board of Education There were many arguments both for and against school segregation. One was the claim that educational decisions were to be left to the state and local courts, and not to be decided by the Supreme Court. Another was that students should be taught where they are most comfortable learning. It was thought that white children were more comfortable learning with white children and the same goes for African-American children. Also, students must be given and equal learning environment, not the same school.
Injustice The Scottsboro Case shed light on the racial practices expressed in law that made a great impact on the legal system today. The actual victims of the Case did not receive a fair trial due to the color of their skin. The ones who played the victims planned the crime, and their stories made no sense. But like many of the trials during the time it wasn’t based on the actual evidence that was found,or even the defendants ' stories.