Board of Education was a breakthrough decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing segregated schools were unconstitutional. No longer were blacks and whites going to have to attend separate classes or even separate schools. This was the beginning of a transformation of our entire society. The decision overturned the Plessey v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which allowed state-sponsored segregation. Handed down on May 17th, 1954, the Warren Court's unanimous decision stated that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Because of this decision, racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This ruling paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement. Every justice, except for one, rejected segregation, and the others still questioned whether the Constitution gave the court the power to abolish segregation. Many justices upheld that “separate but equal” was constitutional following Plessey vs. Ferguson. Warren believed that racial segregation violated the Constitution and that only those who felt that blacks were inferior to whites could practice such a thing. Warren encouraged the other justices to reach other to one another and find common ground that all could agree upon. After eight votes, Stanley Reed of Kentucky, agreed to join the rest of the justices. Warren authored the basic opinion of Brown v. …show more content…
(n.d.). Brainy Quotes. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/judicial_2.html
Earl Warren. (n.d.) Oyez. Retrieved July 12, 2016, from https://www.oyez.org/justices/earl_warren
Casper, J. D. (n.d.). The Supreme Court and National Policy Making. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/1960323
Cray, E. (2008). Chief Justice: A biography of Earl Warren. S.I. : Simon & Schuster.
William H. Rehnquist. (n.d.). Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://www.rehnquistcenter.org/rehnquist.cfm
Unknown, A. (n.d.). The Supreme Court in the American System of Government. Retrieved from