3a. Why does the court's opinion maintain that segregated schools are "inherently unequal"?
3a. Why does the court's opinion maintain that segregated schools are "inherently unequal"?
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Answer to Question 3a
![Name
Class
Activity 11, The Civil Rights Movement, continued
Document 3
Date
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local
governments.... In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably
be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an educa
tion. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a
right which must be made available to all on equal terms.
We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in
public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities
and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority
group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does....
Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detri-
mental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has
the sanction of the law, for the policy of separating the races is usually inter-
preted as denoting the inferiority of the negro group. A sense of inferiority
affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of
law, therefore, has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental devel-
opment of negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they
would receive in a racially integrated school system....
We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "sepa-
rate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently
unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated
for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation
complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by
the Fourteenth Amendment.
--Chief Justice Earl Warren, writing for a unanimous Court
3a. Why does the court's opinion maintain that segregated schools are "inherently
unequal"?
3b. According to the court's opinion, what is the most important thing that state and
local governments do?
Copyright by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
American History
93
Document-Based Activities](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2Ff1d92f0d-82c0-418e-987c-42d0243d1437%2F875533dd-5231-4e43-a103-6dc2bf7b6a89%2Frg5scha_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Transcribed Image Text:Name
Class
Activity 11, The Civil Rights Movement, continued
Document 3
Date
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local
governments.... In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably
be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an educa
tion. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a
right which must be made available to all on equal terms.
We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in
public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities
and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority
group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does....
Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detri-
mental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has
the sanction of the law, for the policy of separating the races is usually inter-
preted as denoting the inferiority of the negro group. A sense of inferiority
affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of
law, therefore, has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental devel-
opment of negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they
would receive in a racially integrated school system....
We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "sepa-
rate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently
unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated
for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation
complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by
the Fourteenth Amendment.
--Chief Justice Earl Warren, writing for a unanimous Court
3a. Why does the court's opinion maintain that segregated schools are "inherently
unequal"?
3b. According to the court's opinion, what is the most important thing that state and
local governments do?
Copyright by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
American History
93
Document-Based Activities
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