Paper Details  
 
   

Has Bibliography
6 Pages
1537 Words

 
   
   
    Filter Topics  
 
     
   
 

Black struggle for equality

It took almost 400 years for African Americans to achieve their freedom. Freedomwhich was appointed to them by the US constitution. Ever since blacks arrived in America they were looked upon as the "inferior race." Whites would go to almost any extent to express their hatred towards the blacks. The K.K.K. was as powerful as ever. Emotions ran high, especially in the South. Which was where the infamous case of Plessy v. Ferguson(1896) originated. In this case the court supported the constitutionality of a Louisiana law requiring separate but equal facilities for whites and blacks in railroad cars. Racial discrimination in America was heavily strengthened by this decision. For more than 50 years, most states used the "separate but equal" rule to segregate the races in most all public facilities. This was soon too change. The system of "Separate but Equal" began to crumble in the mid 1900's. The peak of this collapse occurred in 1954, during the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, in which the Supreme Court ruled against the segregation in public schools. Leading up to this case, there were four key events which led to the abomination of this un-constitutional law; those being a monumental reference to the 14th amendment in the Brown vs. Board case, the organizing of minority groups who set out to fight the battle of inequality, numerous cases regarding the "separate but equal laws," and Chief Justice's theory on the issue of segregation in the public school system. The first of these arguments which Brown pointed out was a reference to the Fourteenth Amendment, which was added to the US constitution after the Civil War. In the first section of the fourteenth amendment is clearly stated that "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive and person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"(Source 1,...

Page 1 of 6 Next >

    More on Black struggle for equality...

    Loading...
 
Copyright © 1999 - 2024 CollegeTermPapers.com. All Rights Reserved. DMCA