Essay about Brown v. Board of Education

While America has a long history of prejudice against people of color, there have been many advances in recent years to ensure that racism and discrimination are not prevalent in modern-day America. A prime example of this idea of equality in America took place in the 1950s with the Brown v. The Board of Education ruling, in which the Supreme Court found that the separation of races in the public school system is unconstitutional. Succeeding this ruling several years later in an attempt for further advancements away from racism in America “President John F. Kennedy's Executive Order (E.O.) 10925 used affirmative action for the first time by instructing federal contractors to take "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” Established the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.” (“Affirmative Action Policies Throughout History”) In addition to this order made by President Kennedy, many other drastic changes have occurred at the Federal level as well throughout the 1960s to present day. With these advances taking place more recently, in even earlier times, America was slowly turning away from racism dating back to the 30s in the segregated state of Alabama. These improvements took place in the court system and were described thoroughly through the eyes of Jean Louis in To Kill A Mockingbird. While we were misguided in the past and believed that discrimination against a certain race was just, we have made many strides in recent history proving that America truly does treat everyone equally and will not accept racism.

In 1952, Brown v. The Board of Education was brought to the supreme court and would be identified as one of the greatest milestones in bringing America closer to absolute equality. It was made up of 5 cases involving segregation in public schools lasting over 2 years. It began in District Court, where the school board won but was quickly appealed to the Supreme Court because it violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. During the supreme court hearing, the case was debated for several years leading to many disagreements due to opposing views among the supreme court justices. Eventually, When Chief Justice Earl Warren gathered all of the justices together to approve a majority decision deeming segregation in public schools illegal, the case came to a close. Earl Warren ended the case with his famous quote "To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone." (“Equal Protection Quotes | Shmoop.”)

Following the decision of Brown v. Board of Education, America began to drastically change, especially so in the 1960s at the federal level. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law becoming “landmark legislation prohibiting employment discrimination by large employers (over 15 employees).” (“Affirmative Action Policies Throughout History.”) Due to these giant leaps for mankind, the Federal Government, in current time, now possesses the ultimate freedom to make any law or regulation involving civil rights it feels is right. This was demonstrated on the first day of office under President Biden when he “ issued Executive Order (EO) 13985 which established that the Federal Government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all and creating opportunities for the improvement of communities that have been historically underserved.” (“Fact Sheet: U.S. Efforts to Combat Systemic Racism.”)

With all of these changes in more recent years, America was beginning to make improvements almost a century ago as shown in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee about her personal experiences in Alabama during the 1930s. In this story, the main character's father, Atticus, is a very moral-based and prestigious attorney that does not share racist beliefs like most of the small county of Maycomb did. He prides himself in teaching his kids to be fair to everyone and that no one is lower than anyone else. Atticus showed this stance when he was given the task to represent a black man, Tom Robinson in a false accusation court trial and did everything in his power to save his life. This trial shows several examples of people swaying away from racist tendencies, such as the judge of the case Judge Taylor electing Atticus instead of another attorney due to the reason as stated by Miss Maudie “It was no accident. I was sittin‘ there on the porch last night, waiting. I waited and waited to see you all come down the sidewalk, and as I waited I thought, Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that. And I thought to myself, well, we’re making a step—it’s just a baby- step, but it’s a step.” (Lee 219-220). This appointment shows Judge Taylor's increasing care for people of color due to him giving Tom the best opportunity he could have to win. The quote also shows Miss Maudie identifying that what was occurring was a step in the right direction for racial inequality. Another example of advancements in the treatment of colored people, in this case, was the jury taking 6 hours to reach a verdict compared to their usual time of only a few minutes showing that their coming to a verdict was not based solely on the color of Tom’s skin.

America has gone to great lengths to ensure that racism is not socially acceptable and that everyone is treated equally. Over the last century, America has slowly begun to open its eyes and realize that no one person is better than the other. We as Americans have done everything to the best of our ability to make sure every person of color feels comfortable in their skin and equal by giving them an academic advantage and by making foundations to ensure their equality. If you would like to see America continue to grow as I would, you need to realize the mistakes we have made in the past, accept that we cannot change them, and work to carry on making America a better place for people of all colors.