Brown V. Board of Ed: School Segregation Positives

    In 1954 during the Brown v. Board of Ed trial there were many arguments for and against segregated schools. Today I will be presenting the side in favor of segregated schools. 

    The first main argument was that the constitution did not require white and African American children to attend the same schools. After exiting the Civil War era, the South entered into a period of separate but equal facilities. Brown vs. Board of Ed cited Plessy v. Ferguson where the equal protection clause stated that the Constitution did not require integration and the states had begun an effort to make equal facilities. After the Plessy v. Ferguson case, segregation continued in the United States. The segregated schools were going and there was a separation between white and black students, but the black students were still able to learn in a school setting.

    Segregation was also a custom for many states. This was the way things were at the time. Stopping segregation in schools could cause issues in the social order that had been established. The South was dealing with a lot of racial prejudice. Keeping black and white students separated kept issues and arguments out of the learning environment. Along with this, many people in the South were used to segregation. It was a custom in their society, and they wanted things to stay the way they were, and stay with what people were comfortable with.

    People in favor of segregation argued that states should be able to regulate the way things are segregated if they want to. This argument cites the 10th Amendment which states the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Using the 10th amendment, segregationists claimed that the constitution did not mention anything about segregation, and Plessy v. Ferguson allowed separate but equal; therefore, states should have the right to segregate schools.  

Another argument was that segregation was not harmful to African Americans. White people were making an effort to equalize institutions. However, the effects of slavery were still showing in African-American children. Black children were behind in their education because it hadn’t been offered for them until recently. Their reading and writing skills were behind those of white children. To make schools work they would either be behind for the white children, or ahead for the black children. Black children needed time to be able to compete and learn at the same pace as white children. There was also an issue with teaching. Many black teachers lost their jobs as a result of desegregation in schools. The white teachers were the ones who got to keep their jobs instead of the white teachers. Issues would also arise because the white teachers that would be teaching the students likely hold the same racial prejudice as most people in the South. This causes the teachers to give more attention and care to the white children's education instead of the black children.