Resolution
1954 Decision |
Illinois Commission on the 50th Anniversary Brown
Abstract |
In 1954, the Supreme Court handed down the historical Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision, which was intended to cut at the heart of years of entrenched segregation. Segregation limited millions of Black children to an inferior education and was the official policy of the land concerning peoples of colored races, The legendary decision of Brown established racial integration as the nation's official civil-rights policy by banning segregation in public schools and, in so doing, made public schools the vehicle for the fruition of integration. In 1999, after over four decades of the integration policy, researchers have documented the tendency of the nation to resegregate schools. Therefore, this study is a timely examination of a fundamental social problem- the civil-rights policy of integration--in that it determines the impact of the integration of schools and examines whether or not the integration of schools worked. This study identified and evaluated the effects of school desegregation, which was initiated by Brown as the nation's civil-right policy of integration. The research offered an historical overview of the events and anti-discrimination cases that led to Brown, as well as of the structure and nature of the desegregation programs and court cases that interpreted Brown. Through the examination of other research, data, and statistics, a determination was made on how Brown fulfilled its promises regarding the impact of the policy of integration. Finally, current program initiatives and their effects were documented, and a determination was made concerning the importance of this policy to the future of the U.S. The research concluded that Brown had a profound effect on the advancement and progress of African Americans in society through ending the caste system of segregation and implementing the policy of integration. However, Brown's main shortcomings were (a) never being tuny implemented; (b) de jure segregation giving way to de facto segregation: (c) internal problems and views within both the Black and White races; and (d) changing opinions, even to the degree of being sharp reversals, in court decisions. This research recommended that the policy of integration be continued because a multiracial, multicultural society is needed to meet the dynamics of the 21st century and, when funy implemented, secures the inalienable rights of all people to freedom, justice, and equal opportunity.
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Illinois Commission on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education Contact: Executive Director Ollie McLemore |