This scholarly paper written for the Second National Conference on Urban Education presents an overview of the black experience in the development of American education. It may be considered by some as a celebration of the Bicentennial. It begins with a discussion of the condition of blacks during the Revolutionary War and continues with an…

Argues that the single most enduring effect of "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas," has been to reverse the public policy of racial segregation approved by the Supreme Court in "Plessy v. Ferguson." The article reviews instances of resistance and violence, government use of troops, and present situations of school…

Students, parents, and teachers of today should know full well that even a whole phalanx of educational reforms does not automatically prevail over the social bigotries that persist from the past. This paper provides an uncomfortable reminder of how the democratic purposes of U.S. education must be sustained not only by court decisions and…

This unit is one of a series that represents specific moments in history from which students focus on the meanings of landmark events. This unit focuses on the black experience in the critical years after Reconstruction. Using the landmark decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, the unit opens with an examination of conditions in black America…

Reviews efforts by Black Americans to gain social justice and equality through education. Traces the civil rights movement from the 1954 Supreme Court Brown decision and the Montgomery (Alabama) bus strike and examines the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on education as an instrument of social justice. (AOS)

Examines 12 black newspapers' coverage of the "Civil Rights Cases" in 1883 and "Plessy v. Ferguson" in 1896, to determine if these newspapers reflect a shift from optimism in 1883 to discouragement by 1896 over the state of race relations. Tries to determine whether these newspapers counseled their black readers to have…

Analyzes four significant court cases that span the rise of a body of jurisprudence in the United States known as civil rights law. Describes each of these cases in detail showing the profound impact they have had on the rights of all citizens and, in particular, African Americans. (CMK)

Assesses the progress of equality since Brown v Topeka Board of Education and argues that there still has not been a full implementation of that Supreme Court decree. School integration is shown to be declining. It is recommended that The court could merge the equality standards of Plessy v Ferguson with Brown to provide quality education. (GR)

Analyzes Thurgood Marshall's role as a critical jurist, especially in light of recent criticism directed at Brown v Board of Education. It discusses the separate-but-equal doctrine of Plessy v Ferguson and Marshall's underlying strategy that such a doctrine was harmful to black children. It concludes with the author's interpretation of Marshall's…

Offers suggestions for using the "1896" website at Vassar College that includes 90 political cartoons, party platforms, candidate biographies, and other background materials on the election of 1896. Provides five approaches to teaching about the election that move beyond the basic facts of the campaign in order to develop students'…

In the "Columbia Law Review," Harry Jones (1974) illustrates five general and sometimes overlapping purposes of the law. They include the preservation of the public peace and safety, the settlements of individual disputes, the maintenance of security expectations, the resolutions of conflicting social interests, and the channeling of…