Supreme Court and the End of Segregation Essay

Jim Crow and the Segregation of SchoolsThe Jim Crow era lasted from after the Civil War, i.e., roughly around the late 19th century, to the mid-20th century in the United States. It was characterized by a series of policies at the state and local laws enforcing racial segregation, particularly in the Southern states. One of the most significant and pernicious aspects of this era was the segregation of schools, a policy that was a symbol and expression of the overall system of institutionalized forms of racism and inequality in the country.The main responsibility for the segregation of schools lay with state and local governments. Following the end of Reconstruction in 1877, Southern states began to pass laws mandating separate schools for black and white students. These laws were part of a set of Jim Crow laws that segregated public spaces and accommodations (Sandoval-Strausz). State and local governments were responsible for seeing to it that white students attended white schools and black students attended black schools. It was basically a form of apartheid in education, but it was par for the course in America at the time, where diners were segregated, bus seating was segregated, bathrooms were segregated and so on.The U.S. Supreme Court played a big role in cementing school segregation. In the landmark case Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Court upheld a…

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…entwined in the legal and political systems of the United States. It was actively enforced by state and local governments and was supported, or at least unchallenged, by the federal government for decades. The dismantling of this system required a change of mind from the Supreme Court, shifts in public opinion, and federal intervention. Thus, with everyone pulling together, the policy was finally overturned.Works CitedDriver, Justin.The schoolhouse gate: Public education, the Supreme Court, and the battle for theAmerican mind. Pantheon, 2018.PBS. Jim Crow. The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow | PBS (thirteen.org)Sandoval-Strausz, Andrew K. "Travelers, strangers, and Jim Crow: Law, publicaccommodations, and civil rights in America."Law and History Review23.1 (2005): 53-94.