Simple Justice 1993

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] stamp books a heavy man damn books cost too much all I got left is train fare home hey Hill oh you got any money so you gonna buy me lunch oh no how about some redistribution of assets instead right no game a chance we got to have a fist I'll watch thanks watching learner and watch and learn yeah show you seven facts I had just arrived from Richmond and there I was watching Thurgood shoot dice when I should have known better damn it crap are you a student here yes sir what's your name Thurgood Marshall sir mmm-hmm where were you what was that supposed to do whistle that would be old iron shoes Dean of the law school Dean Dean of the law school mmm-hmm Charles Houston was the reason I'd gone to Howard honors graduate of Amherst and the Harvard Law School he'd taken a shoestring operation and made Howard their first fully accredited Negro law school in the country mouna sir your name is Oliver Hill sir so glad you could join us mr. Hill yes take a seat sit down mr. Marshall yes sir Dean Houston explain to me if you will why are you here at Howard law school I want to be a lawyer a lawyer why why I don't know my brother's gonna be a doctor every Negro family needs want to eat Thank You mr. Hill all right now mr. Marshall you are from Baltimore aren't you yes sir Almer why are you hey mr. Marshall to attend our little Howard law school and not going to ition free to the prestigious University of Maryland I happen to be a negro I see and Negroes do not attend the University of Maryland is that correct no sir I mean yes sir Negroes don't attend Marilyn why is that who knows what that signifies a lawsuit down south somewhere Louisiana won it so that's right 1896 what was it about Jim Crow that's a label not an explanation segregations huh Plessy mr. Hill is why Uriah from Richmond Virginia and a racially segregated train blessing mr. Durham is why no one in this room can eat in most of the restaurants here in the capital of the world's greatest democracy and Plessy mr. Marshall is the reason it is against the law in 17 states for black children to go to school with white children there are two kinds of lawyers gentlemen there are my kind and there are parasites on society my kind of lawyers going to be a social engineer my kind of lawyer is going to be a fighter for social change my kind of lawyer is going to find out everything there is to know about Plessy because Plessy is a dragon gentlemen and my kind of lawyer is going to go out and slay it that's why you're here mr. Marshall or it it better be and if it's not you'd better pack up and leave right now because you will not make it I want each one of you to take a look to your right well now look to your left in three years two of you won't be here I noticed that some of you are sporting men well those are your odds he called you up Karaca yeah and what did you do to deserve that barely caught me shooting grass there good your mother sold her engagement ring so you could go to Howard don't you go messing around like you did in college honey I did well in college yeah finally after almost getting kicked down very good like the rest of us got the message had to from the start Dean Houston had us up and arguing the ins and outs of segregation cases especially Plessy now the accommodations in the Negro car are the same as those in the whites only car they are separate but they are equal well no objective observer would call those accommodations equal Jana that's not the point my quiet mr. Homer Plessy preferred to sit in the car designated whites only and was arrested in violation of his constitutional rights his client Homer Plessy purpose that broke the laws of the state of Louisiana but that law requires White's to sit in one car Negros has hidden another that's discriminatory it violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution no refresh my memory tell me exactly what the Fourteenth Amendment says exactly well since your entire case rests upon it I don't think that's unreasonable no State shall make or enforce any law which abridges the privileges of citizens of the United States nor shall any state denied to any person the equal protection of the law okay counsel what does the Fourteenth Amendment have to say about the segregation law that mr. Plessy broke the Fourteenth Amendment says for the state of Louisiana can't legislate away the rights and privileges given him by the federal government just what rights are we talking about the right to be treated the same as any other person not as a second-class citizen our social parasite I mean social inferior look under the 14th amendment the law can't deprive us of freedoms other people have you know simply because we're Negroes volcanic no now the Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 that they can keep you from going places why people can go racially separate facilities may be maintained by the states as long as they are equal segregation is not discrimination so everybody is equal but Negroes can be treated like outcasts me that's the Supreme Court said that the guarantee of equality has limits it does not require social equality but I don't see how that comes from the 14th amendment in Houston oh that was self-evident self-evident what that that white people are more equal than Negro well the court thought that was all in your mind mr. Marshall and I quote the assumption that enforced separation stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority they said is solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it wait mr. Marshall lose your temper Alicia case for 35 years the Supreme Court of the United States has resisted every attempt to overcome segregation by saying see pressing every attempt to overturn the last vestiges of the slave codes by saying see blessing every attempt to open that door just a little bit so that we could become the people that we know we can become by saying see Plessy if you survive here gentlemen you will join a handful of Negro lawyers in this whole country who have been rigorously trained and with that distinction comes a truly enormous responsibility we have to change the laws that keep our people down we must pave the way to the future without education there is no hope for our people and without hope our future is lost so we must use the power and the logic of the law to stop the humiliation and the crippling of our children in disgraceful segregated schools and we're going to have to accomplish this in the face of a Congress dominated by segregationists we'll have to face the fact that no president since Abraham Lincoln is fought for Negro rights and what that means is this we're gonna have to go to court to the highest court in the land to destroy Plessy and we're gonna have to be twice as good as the white lawyers that oppose us at every turn we must not give in we must not fail gentlemen congratulations to all of you my nine survivors the men of the class of 1933 we got a little something for you we'll find the old iron shoes out back it's from the class of 1933 [Music] when the Houston said we must not fail he met it after graduation he went in New York to work for Walter White in the fledgling n-double-a-cp his job to direct the legal assault on segregation Farragut was just starting out and Bolden all but business would be slow at first and when Charlie needed some affordable health he asked Thurgood to go south with him to document racial conditions and recruit people for the legal campaign turn to your right toward the rose bushes where did you get that thing pick it up for Charlie come down here now what do you mean this trip you're taking a movie camera down there yeah Charlie wants to document how bad things are down south you know jump up a little support for the legal campaign you're taking a big risk those crackers are crazy enough they're good without you running around pointing a movie camera things I'm getting combat pay listen Thurgood I know this is important and I know Charlie needs you but you be smart look out for yourself I need you to be bang don't gamble away all my money I love you forever [Music] they're good you're a Negro and you're speeding in Chester County South Carolina you just slow down all right boys and girls study your reading lessons while I talk to Reverend Roby in these channels now children don't make me have to get my strap you all know how to share books don't you I don't know what you gentlemen spec to see but I'll be glad to answer if you have a question the car you won't provide new one County don't provide nothing sir but my salary such as it is and most people are out here - PO - babbles again he walks for miles most of the children attend regularly yes sir most for the full term and how long is that after cotton harvest up to plant in time about three months how many go on to high school would you say mr. Houston we got no colored high school in his cabin [Music] [Music] you want some of it [Music] yeah give me [Music] you did all right take this pilaf [Music] [Music] [Music] it was easy documenting conditions recruiting people to stand up in court that was a different story I appreciate y'all coming out here tonight I got two friends that I want y'all to meet from up north mr. Charles Euston here was the head lawyer of the NAACP then is Ray Smith coming down we're lawyer what he means is that if you go into a court of law with us we could change things you can't change you know white people's down here miss doctor what we're trying to say is you have rights and white folks are denying you those rights talk like you didn't they come looking for us Oh children live it all nineteen years my advice this is Chester South Carolina 68 pupils in one room maybe a dozen books no desks no equipment this is a white school one mile away thirty pupils per classroom very light and airy very well-equipped how did you get in Oh white fella did it well very large feet the state of South Carolina spends three hundred and thirty two thousand dollars to bus white elementary school kids for a comparable population of Negroes they spend a total of six hundred twenty eight dollars separate-but-equal brutal just keep the Negroes poor an ignorant and they won't get restless okay what do we do where do we start on now Walter we can't start down there segregation has absolutely taken for granted down there okay and we can't start talking about black and white kids going to school together that's too explosive are you saying there's nothing to do what I'm saying is we can't go at Plessy directly we have to weaken and chip away at at first what do you suggest we go after the equal part first see if we can win then we hit separate I see and if we really want to win we stay as far away from those little kids schools as possible how far away graduate schools like a law school equal law schools a judge should be able to get the joke don't you think I'm missing something how many states do you think are likely to build a first-rate law school for Negroes just to keep us separate they're not gonna spend that kind of money I don't know it sounds like a long way around today think I have found us a plaintiff Donald Murray see if you don't think he's perfect what do you mean we brought him in to meet you Walter he's waiting in my office right now bringing in and where did you go to college Amherst College sir I graduated with honors and then you applied to the University of Maryland yes sir and they rejected him they told him to try Howard excuse me you have a problem with are you ready to stand up with this Denham that'll take time and there could be some trouble for you mr. white I've worked hard my parents have worked hard to give me this far I want to practice law in Maryland dr. Pearson you stated that as president of the University of Maryland you personally reviewed Donald Murray's application to the School of Law yes I did my C and did you at first recommend that he attend instead the Princess Anne Academy for Negroes I did in fact Princess Anne Academy does not have a law school or even offer any courses on a graduate level does it dr. Pearson no and you were aware that mr. Murray as an honors graduate of Amherst College was academically qualified for Law School were you not Yes Doctor how as Dean of the law school would you agree that your curriculum is designed primarily to prepare students who wish to practice law in the state of Maryland I'd say we want to equip our graduates to practice anywhere well I have a copy of your catalog here most of the courses focus on Maryland State code correct a majority of the courses yes so anyone who wish to practice law around here as mr. Mariusz testified that he does would be deprived of invaluable training if denied admission to the Maryland School of Law would he not well I as far as I know there's only one Maryland School of Law's had not true Dean how well I must say I don't think that be sufficient demand to justify a separate law school for Negroes in Maryland the law says equal sir it says nothing about level of demand I can't speak to what the law says Dean how in a Jim Crow State if only a few Negroes choose to travel by train should not there be cars for them no that should not what would you have them ride in ox carts I suppose if the ox carts were about as good as the railroad cars yes I think I would [Laughter] now Your Honor we are not here to challenge the Plessy decision although many rulings have supported the separate part of separate but equal the equal part has never been tested to see if equal means equal and so we are testing it here and now this court here with orders president Raymond Pearson to admit but the decision only applied to one state so after the triumphant celebration of the moment Charlie and Thurman would have to start all over again looking for another case one they could take all the way to the United States Supreme Court in the meantime there was another problem so what do the doctors say Charlie kept pressing on in spite of his health problem looking for the perfect case months pass oh we got it's one judge in one state to tell one law school that if separate isn't equal it can't be separate right we got to find it's another case to take it to the Supreme Court now obviously we can't depend on universities to appeal all the way up so we have to assume that we'll be the ones to appeal follow so we need a case we can lose yep a good case we can lose Charlie Charlie go home finally they found gains versus Missouri the case that got them to the High Court in 1938 there Charlie argued that segregating states should be required to provide Negroes with equal educational facilities the University of Missouri had refused to allow Lloyd Gaines to enter its law school but they said they'd pay if necessary for mr. Gaines to attend law school in a neighboring state the Missouri Court found that quite a reasonable offer and ruled against mr. Gaines your honors if Missouri offers its white citizens of Law School it must also offer its Negro citizens of Law School every bit as good and it can't dismiss the problem by saying to mr. Gaines now you just run on over to Kansas Nebraska Iowa and they'll take care of you over there Missouri itself must provide for mr. Gaines Henrietta Charley's new wife watched as Charlie got the court to agree his strategy had worked and we were right on course until look you're gonna have to take care of yourself Charlie you can't fool around with a heart condition now we pick up more of the load if you'd let us you're gonna pick up more than that mr. marshal I'm leaving the n-double-a-cp and you're gonna take my job wait charlie I'm only 30 years old I'm still an apprentice no we gotta find somebody else who knows the strategies better than you who found the plaintiffs who research the law who mapped out the plan you know everything I did I did under your guide and you will still have that you don't have any choice mr. Marshall I already talked it over would Walt away [Music] mayonnaise somebody cheer this man up poor fella just got a promotion when he feels to press World War two it changed everything we fought overseas mostly in segregated units but especially in Europe we found ourselves for the first time in an unsecure gated world many of us came back with new ideas about how things should be at home like human sweat like Harry Briggs like Robert Carter who came to work after another law school you have a better idea Walter very good my boy thinks you're being too cautious they want you to go out there plus eat directly they want action on segregation and they think I don't does the board have a strategy to suggest does the board have plaintiffs lined up does the board have a case in mind no the board does not charlie oh that Sugar Ray Robinson an esse boxer lightning hands and jabbing and popping piling up points he's quick but he bides his time worse 278 rounds the other guy's legs start to go Sugar Ray moves and puts him away yeah well the Walter White wants me to be Joe Lewis one shot haymaker how's that well he still thinks his sweat casein worthy human sweat the guy they put in the basement yeah they're good maybe it's time for you to press the cord find out what equal really means for instance who does sweat talk to discuss things with when he's alone one step at a time remember okay Janos Heymann sweat a resident of Texas desired merely to obtain the best legal education the state had to offer he was denied admission to the University of Texas law school and was eventually shown to the Texas state law school for Negros that had been hastily established to meet this Court's mandate of educational equality counsel mr. Marshall I believe the court is familiar with the facts now in your brief you argue that this Court should overrule 50 years of constitutional law beginning with Plessy versus Ferguson now that wouldn't be necessary would it if colored students in Texas could attend a bona fide accredited colored Law School in the state Chief Justice first I'm sure that we'd all agree that the state of Texas will never build a black law school equal in facilities is certainly not equal in terms of faculty and prestige to the University of Texas one of the most heavily endowed law schools in this country but second we say that even if they did that would not be enough segregated schools can never be equal the Negro school invariably carries a stigma of inferiority in practice it always means separate and unequal for the state of Texas to offer mr. sweat in equal education they would have to offer him the same professors the same discussions and a chance to interact with all the other students of the law that might be arguable for a graduate school of law but what are you driving at mr. Marshall if this Court were to accept your position isn't the next logical step for you to demand racial integration of children and the elementary and secondary schools that case is not before the court just the same if we were to overrule Plessy wouldn't that require nationwide desegregation of all public schools at every level that would be the broadest possible reading well mr. Marshall are you asking for that broad relief or simply for a ruling in favor of your client mr. sweat it is our position Mr Justice frankfurter that this Court should re-examine Plessy however for most in this case is relief for mr. sweat do you see the way they've jumped all over me did that tell you something very good Henriette has been trying to reach you Charlie Houston had a heart attack [Music] hey counselor sir good I have you how's this man behaved well for change boys going like a weed you can start school pretty soon aren't you yeah all right how's things going court today counselor I talked Plesser you need jumped all over me you were loved come on beau honey daddy wants to talk with uncle Thurgood we'll go down and get some ice cream okay I doubt all eyes for you mommy Oh beau you go with your mama they're good maybe we made a mistake hell he never intended for us to be a part of the mainstream in this country my whole lifetime how much has changed we made it good startled Charlie listen a couple of weeks ago I took beau to the drugstore down the stream bought myself pack of cigarettes he ran over to the soda fountain hoisted himself up on one Dame stools oh you spun around he was having such a wonderful time little laugh this fat red-faced soda jerk comes swooping down on him and says says down from there you look bigger I looked there Bo it looked at me I saw the hurt and fear in his eyes we're gonna do nothing they're good look after my boy [Music] millions of Negroes may never know that this man dedicated his life to improving their Charles Houston saw a society that refused to live by its own principle he saw nation that said all men are created equal but use the law to keep some of its people down Charles Houston said the law of this land cannot be permitted to do that and he set out on a legal crusade to carry his people to racial equality Charles Houston inspired and trained dozens of lawyers sometimes he scared us too but he dedicated us to that crusade now we those lawyers we are the true heirs of Charles Hamilton Houston and his legacy to us is the same charge he gave us years ago to use the law the power and the logic of the law to deliver our people from centuries of injustice and to restore to them their right to learn to achieve to excel and to be respected as human being [Music] two months after we laid Charlie Houston to rest the Supreme Court ruled that there was more to equal education than buildings and books the University of Texas law school possesses not only superior facilities but also certain intangible qualities that make for greatness in a law school these qualities include reputation of the faculty standing in the community and prestige therefore even sweat is ordered admitted to the University of Texas law school however we do not reach the petitioners contention contemporary knowledge respecting the effects of racial segregation Plessy versus Ferguson should be re-examined well sorry good you were right you got him to take a big step beyond equal facilities there no you were right Walter we got to go after Plessy directly we got to say that's what we want and we can't give them anyway to skip around rounder how the hell we gonna do that but that's what we got to do very good was about to get some unexpected help down in Clarendon County South Carolina a farmer named Levi Pearson stood up with n-double-a-cp lawyer Harold booyah to ask for a school bus behind you all the way all rise US District Court Clarendon County is now in session judge Edgerton J Fowler presiding Pierson vs. the Clarendon County Board of Education the court is dismissing this case standing to bring this case mr. Pierson has two children a school district 26 mr. Pearson's farm is on the line between district 26 and district 5 and according to tax receipts presented to me by the defendant he pays his property taxes in district 5 which is his legal residence he sends his children the wrong school he's not qualified to bring this suit if it pleases the court the evidence in this case is not limited to where mr. Pierson pays his taxes so you are your case has been dismissed thank you wait a minute your honor this ain't right all we asking for is a school bus your honor Levi Pearson's children are in my classroom in district 26 and they've been there for years and you just hold it right there you want me to put you away for a while next case Zimmerman vs. McCain looks like some of our Negroes don't even know where they live evening folks I am very glad to see here tonight it is a vote of confidence which we may not entirely deserve after mr. Pearson's court experience mr. Marshall we made a mistake so did we we should never have tied a case to one person mr. Marshall I believe mr. bull whale was trying to save other parents from reprisals yeah I understand well what do you want us to do now mr. Marshall we want to know what you think we should do it depends how much you want to stand up to white folks how fast you want to go I was raised on Booker T Washington's advice the industrious and law-abiding don't give the white man any calls to abuse you follow that advice for 40 years then I stand up with Levi and they burn my house down I was in the Army fought the Nazis for three years and a French peoples appreciated treated me like a man and then I come home and I'm treated like dirt and the man fired me and my wife from our job now I believe that you all came here tonight to start trying to change things for your children I'm here to stand up for my children okay now you ask the school board for a few buses now do you want to try four equal books and equal teachers pay do you want to fight to get your kids the exact same school in white kids gift now the only way you're gonna get that is in the same school together now you know white folks ain't gonna take that sitting down they're gonna come after you and they're gonna keep coming after you we're leaving here tomorrow but you all have got to live here mr. Marshall my turns getting the short end of the stick and I don't mean to put up with no mo mr. Marshall you decide what to say in court you you know about those things just tell us what we have to do well we need to make this a group action we need about 20 of you as qualified plaintiffs you count on me where our sign I'll put my name down make sure changing in South Carolina last time I was down here everybody was scared at all [ __ ] then already move to Chicago people I think we have got ourselves a deal [Applause] they're good went back to New York and gave all the white what he had been waiting for in June 1950 the n-double-a-cp announced a bold new initiative an all-out attack on school segregation they were going after Plessy itself some of our people were afraid it would backfire but folks were beginning to stand up inter pika Kansas a welder named Oliver Brown tried to enroll his daughter Linda in a white school in his neighborhood he was turned away we took the case in Prince Edward County Virginia Barbara John's a junior at run-down Moton high school led the entire student body out on strike care you go first tell them what we saw the white kids stole and that's all everybody we run them out on strike and stay out until we get some action okay I know what you got in mind miss Richardson please this will only bring trouble what's Richardson we know what we're doing our teachers are tried our parents have tried and if we don't do something nothing will ever change but you can't just re miss Richardson this is what we're doing and we don't have much time Barbara wrote to my office in Richmond to help those students became our plaintiffs in Virginia's with all of this activity thurgood happily called in more help me Jack greenberg he just joined that's nice Robert Carter and I moved up to New York couldn't get anybody in Philly to hire me you can't be that mr. Coleman me you are [ __ ] anxious no one knows the Supreme Court like this man inside out what was your problem in Topeka Jack get a group of Negro teachers that say if we win they'll lose their jobs well it could be right so some of our plaintiffs are talking about backing out what we can't lose Topeka well that's for sure if you are trying for a Supreme Court decision that applies to all the segregating states you're gonna have to go in with three or four good cases Jack I don't know what to tell you you're gonna have to find some way to convince her would you read this South Carolina brief yes as a matter of fact I did and it is well its weak how it is if you're going for the Supreme Court look we already know that segregation is wrong but the question is how is it unlawful you see I don't see the basic legal argument here it's straight line Fourteenth Amendment segregation is discrimination discrimination is unequal treatment thereby damaging the Negro student so you're gonna have to prove that discrimination has damaged your client in a way that violates the Fourteenth Amendment or we can prove damages all right how you gonna do that using social science evidence man are you serious sure I mean there are a lot of new studies out now and we can have experts experts come on man I could see experts testifying in tangible matters I'm talking about two equal facilities and pay scale Kenneth Clark dr. Kenneth Clark so with the psychological tests dr. Clark you can please okay you show that discrimination hurts the Negro children by creating a no by causing a feeling of inferiority which impairs their ability to learn oh absolutely and these feelings grow into self-hatred and ultimately into despair no question it starts at an early age four or five and of course the earlier it starts so that the more permanently damaging it is very good dr. Clark is testing children for 12 years well what do you think bill gentlemen with all due respect to the good doctor you will be laughed out of court dr. Clark you use these little dolls don't you and your experiment mr. Coleman my findings are consistent with and supported by a large a large body of research whatever your opinion of my methods most experts would find merit in them gentlemen if you are going to succeed at the Supreme Court you are going to need Mr Justice frankfurter on your side now that is a factor Felix Frankfurter will not by anything that is not grounded in precedent and if there's one thing that raises his hackles it's the suspicion that some lawyer is running a carnival sideshow I'm sorry but this social science boudu is not science and it sure as hell is in law this is not food oh this is about damage real damage to real children Thurgood please no you ever read the Negro press the Pittsburgh courier you ever seen dr. Fred parmesan be lighter be lovelier be loved dr. Fred Palmer's new doubles friends skin whitening yes does that say damage to you under your father mr. Marshall oh yeah you don't look that old to me oh yes sir he taught me all the tricks well you know you work this job for a while didn't that's right yeah I remember my first day wait man that hired me gave me a pair of pants came halfway up my shams I complain with the head stood he said they can get a man to fit those pants a lot easier and then get some pants to fit you you just gonna have to try it scrunch down well that means you almost the railroad man and sir I want you to know we do appreciate what you doing thank you I appreciate ya what's this compliments of all the stewards we heard you were coming oh very nice yes I love to wait for it but you know to the railroad man are we still on for jigna no sir we just crossed into North Carolina way way below the mason-dixon line yeah Smith & Wesson line hey doctor you look like you've never been way down south before only once I tested some children in a couple of cities Marcus aw see that again well most of my testing has been done in northern cities you mean you never tested rural black children in the south no I haven't well I thought you knew Thurgood Ken's test results are very consistent there's no reason to believe these children down the clan and how are you going to test any different there are lots of reasons these are farm kids the Negroes in Clarendon County are in the majority six to one in four days we all into court in Charleston maybe without a case that'll be fine right over there cost me 50 cents a piece at a five-and-dime at home they all be to look out hello there what's your name Jimmy that's a nice name I'm dr. Clark do you like dolls Jenny do you have any dolls no dolls at all cheer out I have some dolls here want to see come on I'll show you do you want to play a game dolls okay I'm gonna ask you some questions and you tell me the answers you ready and which one is the boy down which one is the girl down good which one is the colored dough that Ginny I want you to hand me the doll if you'd like to play with they swing now give me the nice style give me the doll that looks bad now give me the doll that looks most like you like me [Music] this one looks like you [Music] give me the doll that you would rather play with Eloise fine now give me the doll that looks bad to you yes there's one that you don't like as well because of the way it looks Heloise thank you which one of the dolls do you think looks most like you just show me the doll that looks like you watch it why that's right always test is over anyway [Music] May 1951 was our first real test in court Negro stood in line and packed the court in Charleston to hear what we had come up with to fight segregation as risky is Thurgood knew it was our strategy in each case but rest heavily upon the testimony of social science experts pleases the court before we begin these proceedings I want to make a statement now we concede that the educational facilities for the colored children in Clarendon County are not equal to those of the white children this is just an attempt to sidestep the issue your honors that the legislature has just passed governor Burns's bill to finance the equalization of schools all we ask is just a reasonable time to achieve those goals Yanis that has no bearing on this trial we contend that these schools are not merely physically unequal we will show that segregation in and of itself is a form of inequality in the room your honors this state sanctioned state mandated discrimination wounds and cripples innocent children it denies those segregated the equal protection of the law which under the Fourteenth Amendment is the birthright of all American citizens clear this room okay mr. Marshall will hear what you have to say segregation destroys a Negro child self-esteem because he is constantly reminded that he's an inferior human being he may come to despise himself and hate the whites no dr. Clark have you excuse me segregation also affects the child who belongs to the discriminating group the white child house the white child affected well the same people who are teaching him democracy Brotherhood to love his fellow man are also teaching him to segregate there's a lot of confusion naturally and feelings of guilt dr. Clark having tested the Negro students involved in this case what are your conclusions about them these six and seven-year-old children suffer to a most appalling degree from self-hatred and this has a paralyzing effect on the growth of their personalities this type of injury in your opinion is it likely to endure in my opinion this type of wound stays raw for a lifetime thank you very much doctor dr. Clark let's see now you talk to how many children lastly I tested 26 26 you talked to and how many students are there and the schools that Clare didn't come I don't know your honors there are 61 Negro schools in the county with a total enrollment of over 6,000 pupils yeah dr. Clark do you think 26 there's a fair sampling yes I believe it was and these 26 students responses forced you to the conclusion that they were being or irreparably damaged by attending segregated schools in claritin County because they are segregated they see themselves as being generally inferior Negro children unlike white children expect to be rejected your honors I have never they ever heard testimony like this in a court of law I'm sorry but I I don't know what else to ask this gentleman thank you the way in your efforts here will be rewarded thank you dr. Clark Thank You mr. Carter well thank you so much we're gonna collect sure thank you we thank you all yeah well we're a long way from home probably be several months before we even get a decision from here but we gonna win mr. macho well someday how you doing Matt y'all came down probably not here now here you know meanwhile Carter and greenberg would handle the brown case in Topeka they wouldn't have came from some other key experts we're also proving hard to get hey we don't have doctor manager he says he's on our side but he also says that he doesn't want to come unless he subpoena it's too close to home what about the big guy in Minnesota rose he just changed his mind look Jack they weren't ready for us in South Carolina but sooner or later they're gonna come after us now who do we have dr. Louisa Hope Rose recommended her uh-huh Bob she's the best we can do dr. hole dr. Louisa hold Bob Carter meet you doctor I know I'm here by default there's so many other social scientists better qualified than I well we're lucky to have you doctor this way please man keep the court your name please Oliver Brown are you a resident up Topeka Kansas mr. Brown yes sir 511 first three mr. Brown do you have a child enrolled in the public schools of Topeka I do she goes to Montrose school about a mile away that's a Negro school yes sir how does Linda get to school astir Brown she walks across the rock Allen rebels switching yard I worry because his dangerous she's only seven years old right is there a school for children Linda's age in the neighborhood mr. Brown yes a white school son the school and did you take Linda one day to seek admission at the Sumner school I did and what happened mr. Brown they threw us out [Music] now mrs. Holt you say that the mere fact that Negro students attend separate schools makes them inferior that's not what I said I said well you contend that it affects the learning process I certainly do well now that could rationalize the lower test scores of Negro students couldn't it mrs. Holt it doesn't rationalize a thing how do you know who you are you get an image of yourself by how other people react to you what they say about you if day after day you face nothing but negative responses you have to begin to internalize them you feel inferior I see my mrs. Holt you are aware that here in Topeka the students are in fact integrated at the junior high level yes of course and I suppose you're going to tell me that that doesn't correct your problem it's not my problem mr. Goodell but absolutely that does not correct it the earlier such a deep wound as inflicted the less likely it is ever to healed but the real problem is what is most destructive about school segregation at any level is that it's legal its legality makes it more destructive our government is approving giving legal sanction to a policy that has to be seen by white people and Negroes as proof that Negroes are inferior well I must admit she was a tiger see the great judge helps me listen to her Cadell could lay a glove on her well all I can think now is the bad guys must be saving their best shots for Virginia Bob Carter was right the attorney for Virginia T Justin Moore had scouted the earlier trials and he was out to whip and humiliate us if he possibly could dr. shine you have testified that in a survey of psychologists a majority agreed that enforced segregation makes Negroes feel inferior is that correct that that's correct mr. Moore ninety percent dr. Shawn let me ask you just how do you spell your last name CH e i n what kind of name is that oh are you asking am i Jewish yeah I am alright let's take the Jews they have been discriminated against have they not yes is your view then that Jews also feel inferior as to status oh yes sir you really believe that no I not only believe it but I have evidence to that effect yeah as a matter of fact in the social science literature the very notion of self-hate first appeared in connection with a study of Jews tell me dr. Clark well I can't the Negro have great pride of race why does he want I suggest to be a Sun tanned white man objection excuse me Your Honor I would like to answer that go ahead what the Negro wants is to be treated like a human being the Negro mr. Moore will take pride in being a Negro when his own government stops humiliating him dr. Clark these 16 Prince Edward students you interviewed they give you the answers you were looking for what are you asking me excuse me mr. Moore dr. Clark did you select or coach any of the children no your honor can you seriously ask this court to believe that your interviews prove anything at all except that kids all kids whatever their color like to complain about their school how can you dignify this farce by describing it as evidence objection oh I'll withdraw that question but your honors we're not gonna allow this so-called expert testimony to go into the record unchallenged we'll call our own witness who will prove conclusively that there is no sound scientific basis for it dr. Garrett you are president or you not of the American Psychological Association I am and you are a head of the Department of Psychology at Columbia University I am very well then dr. Garrett have you known any of the plaintiffs witnesses previously I have several have been my students including dr. Clark then dr. Garrett as a world recognized authority in social psychology and as dr. Clark's mentor do you see his test results presented here as proof that segregation stunts a student's emotional growth pains mean I have to say this I find no such proof dr. Garrett Kenan Negro get a satisfactory education in segregated schools yes in fact it seems to me today in Virginia given the customs of its people that Negroes will get a better education in separate schools giving equal facilities now dr. Garrett segregated education has been represented here as something alien in our democracy do you see it in that light principles of separation education well established in America boys and girls are taught in separate schools after children attend parochial schools Jewish children go to Hebrew schools no stigma attached us thank you dr. Garrett do you know any situation involving segregation of Negroes where the stigma of inferiority has not attached I don't think any such stigma need attached I think if the Negroes had equal facilities in the high schools of Virginia the Negroes would develop their schools up to the level where they would not want to mix they would develop their sense of dramatic in music which they seem to have talent for and athletics and they would say we prefer to remain as a Negro group I would like to see that happen I think it would be poetic justice let me ask you directly dr. Garrett do you believe that Negroes are inherently inferior to whites oh no I'll allow it well I I can't no of course not no further questions your honor one week after the Virginia trial was done decisions from the all the lower court cases were in no surprise in South Carolina we lost in Virginia to this Court finds that racial separation in Virginia rests neither upon prejudice nor Caprice but for generations has been part of the customs of her people we have looked from the judge in Topeka Kansas came some hopeful words segregation of white and colored children into public schools is detrimental to the colored children the impact is greater when it has the sanction of law however in the recent swept case the Supreme Court made it clear that it was confining its rulings to graduate schools only and it's still the authority permitting a segregated school system in the lower grades therefore the plaintiffs prayer for relief is denied so he's saying but for Plessy he would have ruled in our favor he's saying he can reverse Plessy but the Supreme Court can well you just have to see if those nine distinguish right never what I talked about we now had three cases we hope would be accepted by the Supreme Court and a few months later the court met to consider them I feel strongly that we should not hear these cases now Felix we've avoided confronting these issues far far too long I agree I think it's time we do our job our job I'm not convinced that this - a matter for disposition by the court well said it's going to be very difficult to price this out Felix but it's necessary and his bill says it's time we faced up to it may I have a show of hands seemed to have necessary for votes all right the cases will be consolidated and put on the fall docket and following tradition we will refer to them collectively as Briggs versus as chief that's alphabetical yes but in this matter in order to emphasize the geographical variety and might I suggest that instead of South Carolina the Kansas case be given private place Oh Felix you're splitting hairs I'm trying to take the pressure off the South Bill excellent suggestion Felix thank you sir any objections all right then Brown versus Board of Education Topeka when it was announced that the court would hear cases involving school desegregation opposition was immediate phase [ __ ] Haven hell no well we say to the damn Supreme Court you just tried to put one god damn [ __ ] into our schools and we'll kill the [ __ ] and burn down the school [Music] but maybe the worst news was that the great John W Davis a man who had won a hundred and forty cases in the High Court who literally wrote the book on how to win there he would oppose there that in the oral arguments you don't smoke enough all day now you gotta stay up and smoke all night too you know who this man is I remember you used to cut class to go and hear a marquee at the Supreme Court Charlie Houston used to tell us you got to be twice as good as two white lawyers twice as good hell a lawyer never lived it was twice as good as John W Davis you gonna head to bed I'll be along I gotta find something they're good charlie chose you I chose you I think we were both right [Music] and beer anymore yeah [Music] [Music] is that really your sense oh my I see all right Thank You Jimmy I'm sorry I took so long I hope this isn't cold man best in the business but I wish we didn't have to go ahead with this case at all that was the governor of South Carolina I can imagine dear Jimmy Byrnes getting upset this is a threat to Dixie as we know and love it well you don't understand here Jimmy is going to have to make an announcement today that he'll close the schools rather than desegregation after he spent all that money improving the colored schools in South Carolina that's the whole point dearest this whole thing could very well backfire on the Negroes they could kill the public school system in the south that could be a violent bloody death what can you do I don't know the court is so deeply split there's no leadership kind of Douglass and Hugo black get their wish now it smells like disaster to me [Music] the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States oh yay oh yay oh yay all persons having business before the owner of of the Supreme Court of the United States are admonished to draw near and give their attention for the court is now sitting god save the United States and this honorable Court [Music] your honors state laws which require racially segregated schools deny Negroes equal protection of the law now the lower courts in South Carolina Kansas and Virginia all cited one Supreme Court decision Plessy vs. Ferguson which we contend turn its back on the Fourteenth Amendment the Plessy doctrine relegated Negroes to second-class citizenship and has been used ever since to keep Negroes down we believe that Plessy should be overturned now this Court has itself recently contradicted blessing in sweat versus painter you found unanimously that what the University of Texas had denied mr. sweat extended far beyond equal facilities you said unanimously there is more to equal education than the same books and similarly qualified teachers you recognized unanimously certain intangibles in law schools like reputation standing in the community even the opportunity to exchange views and ideas with other students mr. Marshall any lawyer certainly any justice knows from experience the importance of those factors in a Graduate School of Law but I think we've been through this before what do they have to do with children in public schools Your Honor we argue that Negro children are especially handicapped by laws which set them apart and you've seen in the records from the lower courts abundant expert testimony from eminent social scientists confirm the psychological damage caused by segregation schooling which should enrich the lives of Negro children open doors for them to participate fully in our society instead demeans them and cripples them mr. Marshall I don't care how much social science testimony you have you're asking this court to take away from 21 States the right to determine their own social policy mr. justice Jackson we are just following the court's own logic about what constitutes equal protection in the Sweatt case and applying the same principle to children now mr. Marshall sure you have to consider where the segregation laws came from were they passed for the purpose of avoiding racial friction well Mr Justice Reed I'm sure that the people who wrote those laws would have said that they were thinking of maintaining law and order Mr Justice free my point is that in this century to date no Negro has served in the legislature of any of these segregating states but behind the school segregation laws there are certain facts of life certain customs especially where there are large numbers of Negroes don't you think it helps us to realize that your honor I can't say it helps us these school segregation laws reflect attitudes of the past we're growing up in America we're beginning to understand and accept each other better we just fought a war together to end fascist racism abroad we believe that the time has come to end racism at home I reserve the rest of my time for rebuttal Thank You counselor now counsel for the appellant has cited testimony from what he chooses to call expert witnesses such as dr. Kenneth Clark for example who tested 26 college students in Clarendon County South Carolina with white and brown dolls dr. Clark concludes that college children have been irreparable harmed made to feel inferior well this is distressing news indeed your honors I am reminded of the wistful lament in Scripture so that mine enemy had written a book well in fact dr. Clark has written on this subject and has described a similar testing of colored students in the integrated schools of a northern city now dr. Clark concludes that 52 percent of the college students thought that the white doll was nicer than the colored doll in the north 68 percent thought so in the south 49 percent of the Negro children thought that the colored doll was bad in the north 71 percent thought so now what has become of the crippling influence of segregation it has vanished now your honors how can we say with certainty that racially segregated education offends the Fourteenth Amendment Congress framed the Fourteenth Amendment in June of 18 and 66 and the very next month July of 18 and 66 that very same Congress voted to established segregated schools in the District of Columbia and from that good day to this the Congress has never wavered from this policy mr. Davis 1866 was a long time ago conditions change isn't it possible that what may have seemed all right that is constitutional in 1866 might now be considered unconstitutional your honor changed conditions certainly may affect the laws as set by Congress in by Congress alone but changed conditions should not extend the intended reach of the Constitution as we all understand it is the responsibility of the court to interpret the laws not to make them I respectfully submit that no reason is given here for this court to reverse the findings of 80 years thank you your honors for all his eloquence mr. Davis has left untouched my chief point for some reason the Negro is segregated against his will is forced into a state of imposed degradation for some reason the Negro child is kept out of the mainstream of American life for some reason these acts are all condoned by courts which are supposed to respect and protect his rights as a full citizen you are still asking for a change in social policy mr. Marshall why isn't this a matter for the Congress mr. justice Jackson we don't believe it is up to Congress to interpret amendments to the Constitution amendments that were clearly passed to guarantee full equality before the law for all citizens the Fourteenth Amendment was specifically passed to guarantee that there would be no subclass of American citizenship and we don't believe that Congress can vote on that you were just saying that under the Constitution the individual rights of minorities can never be relegated to the mercies of the majority that's exactly what I'm saying so if I or my child is being deprived of our rights that isn't a legislative problem that we contend is this courts problem but we are asking your honors is that state imposed segregation be removed and the local school boards be ordered to work out their solutions to reassign children on any reasonable basis thank you excuse me mr. Marshall you brought up the question of remedy if we reverse blessing aren't you saying that would automatically entitled every Negro mother to have her child go to a non segregated school automatically not immediately I don't think well what would happen would you mind spelling this out the school boards would have to find some method to distribute children by drawing district lines I assume you assume then we would have German during of the school districts - avoidance would have compliance mr. Marshall nothing would be more foolish for this court than the habit issue an abstract declaration that segregation is bad only to have it evaded by tricks I agree sir completely but we we have to believe the local officials will obey the law Thank You counselor thank you sir good morning sir mr. Benko what would you say was the original intention of the 14th amendment i well i always understood that it was intended to give Negroes the same rights as everybody else all right now did the framers of the amendment intend that have permits segregated schools well one could assume from your door assume yes sir I doubt that the framers anticipated the question but the truth is you don't know and neither does anybody else but you're gonna find out let's please get started we're asked here to reverse Plessy in spite of a large body of law behind us on separate but equal but john davis reminds us the Congress that framed the Fourteenth Amendment also permitted segregated schools in Washington DC oh I'm inclined to affirm the lower court rulings I know my southern compatriots and I know there's a deep fear the desegregation would lead directly to the mixing of the races I also know that the clear purpose of segregation laws is to discriminate I hold no brief with those who'll keep Negroes down to export them as laborers and so on but we must remember the Negro races out of slavery for only a short time they still have a lot of catching up to do so while a body of law has grown up to surround separate-but-equal with an aura of legitimacy I find mr. Marshalls argument persuasive racial classification is wrong Felix these cases present problems of such immense sensitivity and complexity and I don't believe frankly that either side there's really address them they haven't come to grips with the solutions or consequences therefore you can't believe that wait felix is making a valid point therefore I am not prepared to vote on these cases today I recommend that we give both sides a chance to reaaargh you a chance Felix we argue what what could we possibly hear that is new we all know what this is about the legal basis for reaching a decision it's not that complicated for some people nothing is complicated for some people everything is chief I think it would be best not to vote today well we are at loggerheads we will not vote this morning Felix will take your suggestion under advisement great news mr. pickle we're ordering we argument now I need your help drafting some questions what sort of questions for whom for both sides to form the basis for the rehearing how are you progressing on the 14th amendment well the framers had in mind it's slow-going sir how are they after proof that the 14th amendment was intended to outlaw segregation and that the court has the power to do it how can you prove that they don't ask how a remedy might be framed it's a good sign why do they need us to tell them how to do their job hell we won the damn case they just won't admit it this is a big job here we're gonna need historians constitutional scholars god is gonna cost a lot of money sometimes I get so goddamn tired I deceived the white man's soul that was a long terrible summer we lined up dozens of scholars to try to make history serve our argument I'd seldom seen Thurgood so down so after the war was over to get back into the Union all the Confederate states framed new constitutions and not one has a single word about segregated schools that's professor Kelly they knew the Fourteenth Amendment and outlawed Jim Crow come on they just took segregated schools for granion this is a damn wild goose chase excellent job it's clear sir that the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment deliberately avoided being director explicit so you'd say they left it inconclusive its 1866 there was almost no public effort to educate Negroes or whites the framers never gave a thought to segregated schools one way or the other but the language of the amendment is deliberately broad and elastic to allow for future conditions the framers could not anticipate so you're saying they left the door open for either the Congress or the court to act certain good conscience I'd say they left it a gray area in the Constitution the court will have to interpret I don't know what I'm gonna do there's certainly before firm votes to reverse Plessy and maybe four to affirm that leaves me well Felix you abhor segregation don't you see I cannot cast the deciding vote why on earth not I've had no easy little foreigner the agnostic a Jew some may choose as much as Negros what are you saying what they say commie Jew alien Radek it's all in the past Alaska Austria stop this is not cast a deciding vote Marian there's already so much anger so much hate and crammed in this business expose it'll blow us apart it won't just shut down the public schools it could destroy the court surely it won't come to the Hat if we ordered desegregation dear heart will enforce it the army I love this country Marian and you know how much I love the court I'm afraid hello yes you go when was this I see yes of course good night you know Fred Benson just had a heart attack he's dead chief Earl Warren my god another politician no I said I think it's your best choice and he says although don't ever put me on that witness stand I'm my own worst enemy Mr Justice frankfurter it is a pleasure and a privilege sir with the consent of the Brethren I'm gonna ask you Hugo as senior justice if you will preside over this conference so that the new boy can get his feet wet without getting in over his head gentlemen thank you yes may I interrupt I'm finishing a memo I need some sound advice not on a point of law on a decent place to eat oh the jockey club is good Shay albear or salsa Lucy Travis also see first would you be free to join me why yes yes I would after the Civil War the South used every means available to keep the ex-slaves poor disenfranchised and ignorant as close to slavery as possible school segregation was just a logical outgrowth of that general effort that's certainly true but ladies and gentlemen we must face the fact that we still have no persuasive evidence that school segregation was specifically prohibited by the 14th amendment just the same although they were you voted in the decades following their adoption the 13th 14th and 15th amendments were clearly intended to establish equality so what you're really saying is that all we have to argue with at this point is broad purposes you've already done that yes but did they hear it now your honors the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment clearly intended it to establish equality and we contend this Court has at certain times recognized in the 14th amendment that broad purpose now to support that contention I would like to review two groups of cases first the Court's rulings on racial classification laws that's arsal I don't believe we are troubled by our decisions in those cases yes sir Mr Justice Jackson the question is and always has been is it proper for the courts to overrule segregation laws is it right for this court to do that instead of leaving it to Congress exactly I don't want to see you waste your time well in fact in 1871 Congress passed a law specifically aimed at enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment saying that anyone using a state law to deprive a citizen of his right no what that act has to do with our problem if you expect to prevail here you must stick to what flows directly out of the Fourteenth Amendment not some subsequent congressional action yes sir we are the only way my opponent can win here is to prove that the 14th amendment had not been intended to cover schools and a forfeiture marshal if you should prevail before you finish you must address this have you developed a plan or how desegregation would take place this is just a Frankfort here we cannot intelligently that is if you put put forth a single plan that would fit all situations yes but have you thought how much desegregation would be enough have you addressed the administrative progress how much time would you allow for compliance and who would you have to enforce it well those questions would require a little time to work out perhaps a number of months your honors frankly it is also beyond our imagination to conceive how the court would implement a desegregation order in for instance Clarendon County South Carolina there are 2700 black students and only 300 white ones in that County if there were 27 Negro students and only 3 white ones in each and every classroom with their lives be more serene ironically in Clarendon County today you have equal education not promised not prophesied but present now shall it be thrown away on some fancied question of racial prestige contrary to mr. Marshalls statement the basic question is not whether the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to grant equal protection to the Negro everyone acknowledges that the question is whether separate facilities if they are equal satisfy that guarantee this Court has ruled not once but seven times over the years in favor of the separate but equal doctrine now somewhere sometime to every principal there comes a moment of repose a time when it has been so often announced so confidently relied upon so long continued that it passes the limits of judicial disturbers we feel strongly that the separate but equal doctrine has reached that moment thank you your honors [Music] [Music] Charlie you still would have booted me out of law school for such a funneling dim-witted display you got tomorrow all the time you need it's not how much time I need if it almost 200 years to figure it out [Music] hell didn't anything I can tell him that they don't already know [Music] now Yanis I got the feeling listening here yesterday when you put a white child in a school with colored children that child is gonna fall apart and we all know that this is not true those same kids in South Carolina and Virginia they play in the streets together they play on the farms together they go down the road together and they separate to go to school they come out of school they play ball together but they must be separated in school there is some magic to it now this Court has said that black and white are entitled to vote together to live in the same housing developments you have said let them attend the same universities all schools nursing schools but if they attend the same elementary in high schools the world will fall apart yesterday mr. Davis said that he feared the only thing Negroes we're after was pristine status exactly correct we do want that and why shouldn't we why should our being black deny us what others in this country take for granted the honors this country fought a tragic bloody civil war over the question of our status and not one but three amendments to the Constitution were passed in the wake of that war to settle the question of our status once and for all the 14th amendment specifically placed equal status it was the Negro Bill of Rights what had been left out of our Constitution had finally been put in otherwise extraordinary Constitution was finally complete no longer would we be denied the right to be free me to take charge of our own lives to become a proud and inspiring people but we all know that some states made a mockery of those secret promises and in 1896 the Supreme Court of the United States said that's all right the Plessy decision was and is a fraud nothing more than a license to discriminate to perpetuate the inequalities and in Justice's of slavery and now is the time for this court to say that is not what our Constitution stands for the only way this court can decide for the defendants is to say Negroes are inferior to all other human beings and nobody will stand up in this Court and urge that openly but for a court in this country today to deny that enforced racial segregation is a badge of inferiority why they are shutting their eyes as judges to what they must surely know as men if this Court denies our appeal that is the message you will be sending to us and to the world thank you Thank You mr. Marshall as you all know justice flag has been called Alabama because of a family illness Stan I believe the Constitution is a living document and that the Equality for the Negro has not been achieved under the separate-but-equal amendment but I'm still convinced it candy the fact is the Constitution says nothing either about education or segregation now I I have no doubt that segregation is painful to Negroes but how do we do right by the Negro without undermining the integrity of this court precisely then there's a vexing problem of remedy which would have to deal with the deep and possibly violent passion desegregation would be met with I'm not ready to overturn well with Hugo's vote I count four to reverse one to affirm and three undecided like all of you I have given this a great deal of thought I have concluded that the only honest way that segregation can be sustained is to insist that the Negro is inherently inferior and that is unthinkable so I believe the time has come to end segregation in the public schools now given the deep feelings about this issue this court must not act in an inflammatory way but act it must and it is my fondest hope that we can find a way to speak as a United Court in one clear voice brethren I hope that I will have the benefit of your ideas and wisdom never [Music] so it looks as if we're down to the question of remedy how to enforce compliance I know you can't separate the principle from the remedy and a timetable is crucial we can't expect people to change overnight of course but you see the problem is once somebody has a right he has it instantly nothing you could do about that well I don't see how we get around it here let me get to the point I'm gonna draft an opinion on these cases I see you know how important it is to bring this court together you know for brethren will go with me simply because reversing Plessy is fair I know I can't pull the others along unless they're convinced it's judicially viable of course and they look for your assessment of that Felix I'm convinced at the heart of this matter is the problem you're fighting in your mind why not share some of it with us a memo you mean I think it would help perhaps you could think creatively about the problem of timetable and framing a remedy let me know regarding a decree in the school segregation cases before the court I offer these thoughts in the hope they may stimulate good thoughts and others the Equality of laws enshrined in the Constitution was made for an undefined and expanding future and for a people gathered and to be gathered for many nations and many times thus it is not a fixed formal law must respond to changes in men's feelings for what is right and what is just when a deeply rooted state policy is wrong the court does its duty if it reverses the direction of that policy so as to uproot it with all deliberate speed what in the hell does that mean it means gradually borrowed from Oliver Wendell Holmes Oh Tigger is bouncing back is it well it's better thank you you know well it's very humbling coming face to face with one's mortality very astute move circulating Felix's memo well a great Justice once said that the majestic generalities of the Constitution have a content and significance that vary from age to age Benjamin Cardozo right yes I like what he said about a great principle growing into the promise of its logic but some day all men are created equal might mean just that Stan Earl I know it isn't easy deciding what's best for your country I don't envy you you're all alone on this one I know I wish you could come with us I wish you were possible well [Music] the Honorable the Chief Justice and the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States oyez oyez oyez all persons having business before the Honorable the Supreme Court of the United States are admonished to draw near and give their attention for the court is now City god save the United States and this honorable Court I have four announcement the judgment an opinion of the court in number one Oliver Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka we cannot turn the clock back to 1868 when the 14th amendment was adopted or even to 1896 when Plessy vs. Ferguson was written 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 education such an opportunity where the state has undertaken to provide it is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms the segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprived the children of the minority group of educational opportunities we believe it does two separate Negro children from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community which may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone any language in Plessy versus Ferguson contrary to this finding is rejected [Music] we conclude unanimously [Music] but in the field of public education the doctrine of separate but equal has no place separate educational facilities are inherently unequal [Music] this is overdue but nonetheless we are happy with the result to be there all right [Music] [Music] to hear the area hello congratulations mr. Marshall you argued with skill and great passion and obviously that carried the day no sir I'm happy very happy but I'm not thanking anybody nobody gave us anything today but we got is ours by right simple justice well mr. Marshall perhaps we'll meet again someday goodbye goodbye oh that although Bob I've got the feeling that tomorrow the real work begins Brooke smack I'm gonna have a couple and then I don't wanna have a couple a year later the court ordered Public Schools to desegregate with all deliberate speed it took ten years in Virginia and in South Carolina to make no mistake though the brown decision made all the difference in the world for over 300 years we had been either slaves or second-class citizens Brown said in effect we were equal before the law that's what we heard that's what it said the law was finally on our side [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] this is PBS

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Published: Tue Jan 09 2018