Describe the reaction of Southern states to the Brown v. Board decision and the actions taken by each of the three branches of government in desegregating public schools and facilities following the Brown decision. Provide specific examples in order to justify your answer.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

While states bordering the South, such as Washington, D.C., took immediate steps to integrate their public schools, Southern states actively resisted the orders of the Court. One specific example of this can be seen in the case of Griffin v. Prince Edward County, in which the county actually closed its public schools and set up a way for white students to get private funding in order to attend private schools, while black students were unable to attend school at all. The Court eventually compelled Prince Edward County to open its public schools on an integrated basis. Eventually it was clear that Southern states had no intention of desegregating their schools within any reasonable time frame, and the Court issued its Brown II decision in 1955, compelling Southern school districts to desegregate and integrate their public schools “with all deliberate speed.” Despite this court order, 97% of children still attended segregated schools 10 years after the Brown v. Board decision was implemented by the courts. For the first 10 years after Brown, only the judicial branch took any action in terms of creating or implementing enforceable desegregation policy. However, beginning with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and moving forward, both the executive and legislative branches took more aggressive action. In fact, during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, it was the executive and legislative branches that took the lead in producing desegregation policy. However, it was the courts that had the power to order or approve enforcement activities through the district courts and the U.S. Marshalls service. An early example of executive involvement would be President Eisenhower’s ordering of federal troops to protect students enrolling in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Similar actions would be seen beginning in the late 1950s through the 1970s.