The Supreme Court has made decisions that have been important in shaping the interpretation of the Constitution. “The Framers of the Constitution intended for the Supreme Court to stand between the two branches of the national government and the people, to prevent abuses of power and improper interpretations of the Constitution (Mott, 2008). The case of Brown vs. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), is an example of when and amendment to the Constitution needed to be interpreted. The Supreme Court made a very important decision in interpret ting the Constitution, in the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education.
In Topeka, Kansas a black third-grader by the name Linda Brown had to walk one mile to school to get to her black elementary school, even though there was a white elementary school only seven blocks away. Her father, Oliver Brown tried to enroll her in the public school near them in which only white children attended. She was denied enrollment, due to no blacks were allowed to be enrolled in an all white school. During this time the NAACP had waited quite some time to challenge segregation in public schools. So, when Mr. Brown went to the NAACP for assistance in getting his daughter enrolled in an all white public school, the NAACP was very eager to take the case. “Other black parents joined Brown, and in 1951, the NAACP requested an injunction that would forbid the segregation of Topeka 's public schools” (Cozzens, 1998).
The NAACP took their case to the U.S. District Court against the District of Kansas and “argued that segregated public schools sent the message to black children that they were inferior to whites” (Cozzens, 1998), which causes public schools to be considered essentially unequal. The Board of Education argued that segregation in Topeka and other states prepared the black children for the segregation that would face in everyday life and their adulthood. The Board of Education also
References: Cozzens, L. (1998, June 29). Brown v. board of education. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html. Mott, J., Ph.D. (2008). ThisNation.com. In Supreme court decision making. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from http://www.thisnation.com/textbook/judiciary-decision.html. National Center for Public Policy Research. (2010). Supreme court of the united states. In Brown v. board of education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) (USSC+). Retrieved January 24, 2011, from http://www.nationalcenter.org/brown.html. O 'Connor, K. & Sabato, L. J. (2009) American government: Roots and reform 2009 Edition (10th ed.). New York: Pearson Education. United States Constitution. (n.d.). Cornell university law school. In United states constitution. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv.