Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) Law Case
Background. The presented case is an example of class action. The plaintiff filed a suit against the Board of Education of the city of Topeka. The complaint was filed to the United States District Court in the District of Kansas in 1951. Totally, 13 parents represented the interested of twenty children who tried to attend the Topeka School (Balkin, 2001). Initially, they filed a suit expecting the school administration to change its policy in response. The name Brown was assigned to the case on purpose as plaintiffs desired to have man's name as the headline of the suit. Additionally, this person had a complete family so that his chances for success were considered to be higher than in the case of single parent family.
In 1951, all plaintiffs attempted to enroll their children in the schools that were located near to their houses and all of them were denied enrollment (Patterson, 2009). They were told to apply to segregation schools. Then the parents eventually filed a suit. The District Court ruled in favor of School administration stating that all schools provided the same services in terms of transportation, education, curriculum etc. The case then was heard by the Supreme Court of the USA.
Legal Issue. Is a segregation based on race is constitutional in equal though separate public schools?
Arguments of the parties. The case under consideration was a consolidation of issues related to the segregation of children in public schools that was based on race. The plaintiffs, mainly black children, were unable to attend schools where white children studied in accordance with the laws which presumably required segregation based on race. Plaintiffs therefore file a complaint to the court claiming equal access for everyone to the facilities of public schools within the communities they lived in.
Statement of Rule. When the facilities are equal but separate at the same time they are considered as inherently unequal.
Importance. One of the Judges, namely, Earl Warren stressed that even though the services of the schools were the same or, so to say, 'equal', the separation of white children from others with black or colored skin simply on the basis of race constitutes and leads to the complex of inferiority among non-white children and it might negatively affect their minds (Binder, 2004). Such intangible factor makes these segregation laws illegal and unequal. In such cases, on the contrary to the individual discrimination, where one person is discriminated by another, in case of institutional discrimination things are much worse. The individuals who encounter this type of discrimination are treated unequally by the entire staff of different institutions and organizations in various life spheres including law enforcement, housing, education, employment, or medical care. It does not seem to affect only a few people who differ by the color of skin, origin, or race. Instead of this, it impacts thousands of innocent people just because of their individuality, resulting in different race or ethnicity.
Verdict. The Supreme …
