Segregation and education
- Before the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) decision, education in the South was segregated and legitimized by the doctrine of “separate but equal”, established by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a landmark Supreme Court ruling that allowed racial segregation as long as facilities for Black and white people were considered “equal.”
- It legalized state laws requiring segregation in public facilities, including schools.
- It legitimized Jim Crow laws, entrenching systemic racial discrimination across the United States for decades.
The NAACP legal teams documented the disparities in education in cases like Murray v. Maryland (1936) and Gaines v. Missouri (1938), which later on helped build the legal case against segregation of Brown v. Board.
- For example, in terms of funding Southern states spent significantly less per Black student, often less than half the amount allocated for white students.
- Black schools were frequently overcrowded, poorly maintained, and sometimes housed in dilapidated buildings or converted churches.
- Textbooks for Black students were often outdated, hand-me-downs from white schools, or in short supply.
- Black schools operated fewer days annually, sometimes 3-4 months shorter than white schools.
- Black teachers earned substantially less than white teachers despite similar qualifications and workloads.
- Many states provided no graduate or professional schools for Black students, forcing them to study out of state if at all.
