Declaration Of Equality

The Declaration of Independence stated that "All men are created equal," due to the slavery, this statement has no relevance in law in the United States until after the Civil War (and, arguably, not completely fulfilled for many years thereafter). In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment put an end to slavery. Moreover, the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) strengthened the legal rights of newly freed slaves by stating that no state shall deprive anyone of either "due process of law" or of the "equal protection of the law." Finally, the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) prohibiting states from denying anyone the right to vote due to race.

Despite these Amendments, African Americans were often treated differently based on their race. Many state legislatures enacted
. . If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane."

1.163 US 537(1896)

Brown v. Board of Education (1954, 1955)

Ruling in Brown v. Board have played in shaping the racial landscape in Higher educationThe case that came to be known as Brown v. Board of Education was actually the name given to five separate cases that were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the issue of segregation in public schools. These cases were
1.Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
2 Briggs v. Elliot,
3 Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County (VA.),
4 Boiling v. Sharpe, and
5 Gebhart v. Ethel.

While the facts of each case are different, the main issue in each was the constitutionality of state-sponsored segregation in public
483(1954)
2.342 U.S.350(1952)
3103 F.Supp.337(1952)
4.347 U.S. 497(1954)
5.33 Del.Ch.144,87 A.2d 862(Del.Ch.!952)

While in the meeting to decide the case, the Justices of the Supreme Court realized that they were deeply divided over the issues raised. While most wanted to reverse Plessy and declare segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. On May 14, 1954, court unanimously opined"We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. . ."

Expecting opposition in the southern states, the Supreme Court did not immediately try to give direction for the implementation of its ruling. Rather, it asked the attorney generals of all states with laws permitting segregation in their public schools to submit plans for how to proceed with desegregation.

The focus here is on the first decade after the decisions in Brown, for in subsequent years other tools were available to spur desegregation,
1) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
2) The Higher Education Act of