14TH AMENDMENT

Mariah CulpepperMicah Ernst

Meredith BarnettJessica Murray

Sabrina Charles Carolyn Philip

The 14th Amendment Amendment XIV was proposed in 1866 and

then ratified in 1868. Section 1 is usually seen as the most

important. The other sections impact us as well. It can be easily misinterpreted.

The 14th Amendment Plessy vs. Ferguson started the movement

towards total desegregation. Brown vs. Board of Education was

successful due to the work of Homer Plessy, even though he lost.

Ruby Bridges proved how wrong segregation was.

Allan Bakke showed us the “other hand” of the 14th amendment.

Gratz vs. Bollinger is the most recent case involving the 14th to date, and how it can impact us in a couple of years.

Plessy Vs. Ferguson

Homer Adolph Plessy 30 year old shoemaker

○ 1/8 Black ( he had an African American grandmother)

The Citizens Committee and him felt that he should test the Separate Car Act. An Act stating that

everything would be “ Separate but equal” meaning whites had to sit in the white car and blacks in the black car.○ Anyone who did not

follow the act would receive a $25 fine or 20 days in jail.

On June 7 1892 Plessy was arrested Albion W. Tourgée was appointed

attorney to the case with help from the Citizens’ Committee○ He had previously won cases

of the same style They went to court and argued that

Plessy rights were violated. Under the Thirteenth and

Fourteenth amendments. John Howard Ferguson was the

judge of the case which found Plessy guilty. At first he was against the

Separate Car Act but later changed his mind○ When Plessy's case got to him

he surprisingly ruled against him, before quoting “ unconstitutional on trains that traveled thorough serval states”. He said that it is

constitutional when traveling in the same state.

Plessy was not ready to be stopped and appealed his case to the Supreme Court.In 1896 the

majority 7/8 found him guilty also .○ Holding firm to the

previous ruling from Ferguson.

His case did not change anything to say the least at least during the 1890’s

Brown Vs. Board of Education In 1951, this class action suit was

filed against the Board of Education of the City of Topeka, Kansas

Plaintiffs believed that the school board’s idea of racial separation while still being treated equally was not fairly executed, as it said it was

In Virginia, Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. organized the Massive Resistance movement that included the closing of schools rather than desegregating them

The complaints against the reason for this case were not just concerned with children and schools, it had to do with human tendencies to prejudge, discriminate against and stereotype based on ethnicities.

Case representatives were recruited by the leadership of the Topeka NAACP

After the victory of this case, it paved the way for integration in the Civil Rights movement

Brown Vs. Board of Education Oliver L Brown – was a

parent, a welder and an assistant pastor at his local church Also an African American His daughter, an African

American third grader was required to walk six blocks in order to get to her bus stop to go to a black elementary school, Monroe Elementary, which was a mile away from her home ○ A white school, Summer

Elementary was only seven blocks from her house, but she was not able to attend

Each parent attempted to enroll their children in the nearest school to their homes, segregated or not

Brown Vs. Board of Education This case was not the first

challenge to school segregation.

As early as 1849, African Americans filed suit against an educational system that mandated racial segregation, in the case of Roberts v. City of Boston.

The Supreme Court combined five other cases under Brown vs. Board of Education

The combined cases came from states such as Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington DC

Dates back to the Plessy vs. Fergusun case in 1896

Ruby Bridges 1960 Ruby Bridges’ family

moved to New Orleans, LA when people wanted to keep blacks and whites separate

She took a test for black kindergarteners to see who would attend an integrated school, and passed

She was one of the first blacks to go to an all white school, William Frantz School

When Ruby started first grade U.S. marshals escorted her to and from school

Ruby Bridges On her first day, most

of the white parents did not bring their children to school

On her second day, no white parents would allow their children to be in the same classroom as her

There was no one in her class the rest of the year and she was taught on a different floor than everyone

Her teacher Mrs. Henry was supportive but, the principal and many teachers didn’t think she should be taught with white children

Ruby Bridges Ruby’s struggle

made it easier for blacks to go to white schools and get a better education

Her role in the Civil Rights Movement also helped improve relations between blacks and whites

Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke

The Medical School of the University of California at Davis had two admissions programs for the entering class of 100 students

○ The regular admissions program and the special admissions program.

Under the regular procedure, candidates whose overall undergraduate grade point averages fell below 2.5 on a scale of 4.0 were summarily rejected.

About one out of six applicants was then given an interview, following which he was rated on a scale of 1 to 100 by each of the committee members

Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke

Allan Bakke, a thirty-five-year-old white man, had twice applied for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis.

○ Both times he was rejected acceptance

Bakke's qualifications exceeded those of any of the minority students admitted in the two years Bakke's applications were rejected.

He then filed this action in state court for mandatory declaratory relief to force his admission to Davis, claiming that the special admissions program operated to exclude him on the basis of his race in violating the laws

Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke

The Petitioner cross-claimed for a declaration that its special admissions program was lawful.

The trial court found that the special program operated as a racial quota, because minority applicants in that program were rated only against one another, and 16 places in the class of 100 were reserved for them.

Declaring that petitioner could not take race into account in making admissions decisions, the program was held to violate the Federal and State Constitutions and Title VI

Since petitioner could not please its burden of demonstrating that respondent, absent the special program, would not have been admitted

The court ordered his admission to Davis

Gratz Vs. Bollinger Case based off of

University of Michigan affirmative action point system

Jennifer Gratz against the 14th amendment

Ruled unconstitutional on June 23, 2003

Affirmative action Uproar

THIS CONCLUDES OUR SESSION ON SCHOOL

DESEGREGATION

Mr. Baker American Government

7th Hour