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How to break the bonds of segregation? What's the story behind Brown v. Board of Education?
American society experienced tremendous changes in 1868, when the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment marked the beginning of equal protection under the law. However, the interpretation and application of this constitutional amendment, especially the Equal Protection Clause, has been a long-running struggle.
The Equal Protection Clause requires that "no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
The initial appearance of the "Equal Protection Clause" was a response to the serious unequal treatment suffered by black people in the past. Before the Civil War, black people were not legally recognized and even faced tragic verdicts such as the "Dred Scott Case", which made the legal status of black people extremely fragile.
With the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery was abolished, but the Black Codes that followed once again restricted the rights of black people. These laws restrict their property rights, citizenship rights, and other basic human rights. It was against this background that Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This law was designed to ensure equal treatment for all Americans, and was especially supported in the creation and passage of the Fourteenth Amendment.
"This amendment marked a legal rethinking of the slavery that had just ended and attempted to guarantee equal rights for all people."
Adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment was not without controversy, however, as it was complicated by opposition from Southern states during Reconstruction and many states attempted to resist the fundamental implications of the amendment. Even though the purpose of this amendment was to protect equality, subsequent cases have not always moved in this direction.
In the following decades, the interpretation and application of the equal protection clause may not work as expected. In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation laws did not violate the Equal Protection Clause and legalized the concept of "separate but equal." This decision caused widespread controversy because its existence further deepened the racial segregation policy in the United States.
“Our Constitution is color blind, neither recognizing nor tolerating class among citizens.”
However, this has not stopped the pursuit of more equal rights. By the mid-20th century, with the rise of social movements, especially the vigorous development of the civil rights movement, Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 became a milestone in the fight against racial segregation. The case ultimately led to the end of legal racial segregation in the nation's education system and reaffirmed the importance of the Equal Protection Clause.
The strategy behind the Brown case successfully combined the concepts of law and social justice, made full use of the Equal Protection Clause, and promoted the legal basis against segregation and inequality throughout the United States. The end result was a new legal standard known as "the practical effects of unequal education."
"This is no longer a purely legal issue, but a moral issue and the need for educational fairness."
To this day, the Equal Protection Clause is not just about issues between blacks and whites. It has also been applied to equal rights among many other groups, including gender, sexual orientation, and other identities. However, historical reflection tells us that the advancement of laws is usually accompanied by protracted struggles and the promotion of social movements.
Every legal interpretation is a reflection of the current social situation at that time, and this also triggers us to think: What else can we do on the road to pursuing true equal protection?
