The African American experience has many different aspects ranging from art and music to law and science. However, the experience also has discrimination. In the past, segregation was well-established throughout the Southern states.
Laws were passed that required African Americans and White Americans to have separate facilities. Social norms also promoted separation of the races. No part of life was immune during the “Jim Crow” era: jobs, restrooms, water fountains, hotels, schools, buses, hospitals, libraries, swimming pools, and even marriage were controlled by “separation of the races” laws.
Yet segregation was always a controversial and divisive topic. While some people accepted it or strongly supported it, others fought to abolish Jim Crow laws as an institution that violated the Constitution.
The five landmark cases below are important parts in the development of the Court’s early analysis of African American rights and status as US citizens. The reversal began with the Brown case.
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
This landmark case is considered by many to be the worst decision ever made by the Supreme Court. Dred Scott, who was black, was a slave who sued his owner for his freedom. After a long legal battle, the Supreme Court ruled that slaves and their descendants were not protected by the Constitution. Slaves were essentially private property. Moreover, the Court would not interfere with the institution of slavery or the private property rights of American citizens. This wide-sweeping decision encouraged the expansion of slavery in the US and many believe was an impetus to the civil war.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Plessy, who was part African American, attempted to sit in the white section of a railway car. He was arrested for violating Louisiana’s railroad law, which prohibited African Americans from sitting in the white section but also required a separate but equal section for African Americans. He challenged the law. The Supreme Court held that the Louisiana law was constitutional because the two separate sections were required to be equal. The effect of this case was to legalize racial segregation. Moreover, it created the concept of separate but equal as satisfying the equal protection requirement of the 14th Amendment.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
The Brown case is arguably the most famous case ever decided by the Supreme Court. Thirteen African American parents sued the Topeka Board of Education when they were not permitted to enroll their children in white schools. The Supreme Court held that racial segregation in public schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held that separate but equal is an inherently unequal situation. This landmark case abolished segregation in public facilities.
Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964)
This case changed the Court’s attention from segregation in the public sector to discrimination by private companies. The Court also changed “ammunition” by using interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Heart of Atlanta Motel refused to serve or house African Americans. The motel was located In Atlanta, Georgia near several interstate highways, advertised nationally, and served customers primarily from other states. The motel challenged the constitutionality of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of this federal law on the basis of its protection of interstate commerce.
The Court held that discrimination keeps African Americans from travelling throughout the country, which has a direct effect on interstate commerce. Congress is empowered to regulate any activity that affects interstate commerce. Therefore, Congress acted within its scope of power in passing the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination by private companies and individuals. This landmark case broadened Congressional power to regulate acts that directly or indirectly affect interstate commerce, which became a foundation for prohibiting and punishing discrimination.
Loving v. Virginia (1967)
The state of Virginia passed a law making it a felony for a White person to marry an African American person and vice versa. The Virginia Supreme Court upheld the law stating that it served the legitimate state purpose of preserving the “racial integrity” of its citizens. The Virginia court also stated that the statute punishes both parties so it did not violate the Equal Protection clause. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed. It overturned the law stating that classifications based on race were subject to the most rigorous level of scrutiny. Hence, the fact that the law bans only interracial marriages involving White persons is proof that the law promotes arbitrary and invidious discrimination and, therefore, violates the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
The Supreme Court approached the issue of segregation in different and sometimes contradictory ways. It made wide-reaching decisions that have affected the lives of African Americans. The days of “whites only” sections and schools have passed. The Supreme Court was an important though sometimes reluctant part of this process. Beginning with the Brown case, the Supreme Court moved strongly against discrimination in both the public and private sectors. It also expanded the scope of Congressional power to champion this cause.
References:
- Irons, Peter. A People's History of the Supreme Court. London: Penguin Books, Ltd., 2006
- Scribner's Dictionary of American History. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984.
Join the Conversation