"Monroe Elementary School"
Murray v. Maryland (1936)
There were many smaller cases similar to the Brown v. Board of Education before all of the cases were compiled and brought to the Supreme Court. One of the first few cases included the 1936 case, Murray v. Maryland. The University of Maryland School of Law rejected black applicants because of their race, including Thurgood Marshall, a previous applicant. They had a policy on the number of acceptance based on race. Marshall argued that Donald Gaines Murray, another rejected black applicant was just as good as other white applicants. And he also argued saying that the black law school that Murray would have attended did not provide the same academic level as the university, which is breaking the Fourteenth Amendment’s doctrine, “separate but equal.” Murray was in favor from the Court of Appeals and the Court was left with no choice but to accept Murray to the university.
Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada (1938)
Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada, a similar case to the Murray v. Maryland case happened in 1938. Lloyd Gaines, a student was rejected by University of Missouri Law School because of his race. Gaines was given two choices; to attend an all black school, which there were no all-black law schools at that time, or have Missouri state to pay him to attend a law school in a different state. He chose to reject both decisions and sue Missouri with the help of the NAACP. The case was brought to the Supreme Court and the Court favored Gaines. A six-member majority stated that the state of Missouri should provide a “black” law school in order to not break the “equal protection clause” unless they send black applicants to a far state.
Webb v. School District No. 90 (1949)
Esther Brown started a campaign in 1948 to improve the facility in schools when she found out her black maid told her about the poor conditions of Walker School, a black school she attended. In South Park, white students were planning to go to a new brick school while the black students attended an 88-year-old building that had two rooms and a facility without indoor plumbing, a cafeteria, and a principal. Smithsonian National Museum of American History wrote, “Denied public educational resources, people of color strengthened their own schools and communities and fought for the resources that had been unjustly denied to their children. Parents’ demands for better schools became a crucial part of the larger struggle for civil rights.” Brown took the complaints to a white School board and they agreed to make improvements such as installing new light bulbs. She also held meetings for African American parents and persuaded white parents to join her campaign. Brown also helped Elisha Scott to file a suit against the South Park District. Through this, she was threatened, a cross was burned in her yard, her husband was fire from his job, and she had to pay for her activism. But at the end, Scott won the trial that was brought to the Supreme Court, and the Court decided to give rights to black students to attend the new and all white South Park school.
Sweat v. Painter (1950)
Herman Sweat, an African American applied to the University of Texas, a white school. The state tried to build a “black” law school that is poorly funded so that the university would not have to admit Sweat. The NAACP decided to help Sweat file a case for not being accepted to the law school he wanted to go to because of his color. They argued that the university receives better education than the new “black” law school the state was trying to build. When this reached the Supreme Court, Sweat won the trial and the Court agreed that all schools were not receiving equal quality of education. Just like the Murray case, the Court had no choice but to admit Sweat to the University of Texas.
McLaurin v. Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education (1950)
McLaurin, an African American attended a program for doctors at the University of Oklahoma. However, he was forced to sit and eat separately from the rest of his class and white students. He fought that these requirements are conflicting to his academic “chase” and different from the rest of the students. The NAACP helped him reach this case to the Supreme Court. The Court declared his arguments are considerable and the requirements placed on him should be invalidated.
Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954)
Oliver Brown was a parent of a student that was rejected to attend Topeka’s white school. Brown argued that the “equal protection clause” was not followed by Topeka and that the schools were not equal. The claim was invalidated because it was said that the schools were considerably similar, equal, and follows the doctrine Plessy. Brown, then demanded another suit which analyzed and inspected all actions taking place in segregated schools. Charles H. Houston and Thurgood Marshall were the two lead attorneys that helped in the case. Brown was questioned by Charles Bledsoe, a local attorney. Brown testified that Linda, his daughter attended Monroe Elementary, a black school. She had to leave the house at 7:40, every morning and walk through dangerous paths to go to her bus stop. The bus did not give good service and it would seldom be late and she had to wait for it whether it was snowing, raining, or sunny. It was always off time and sometimes Linda would have to wait up to 90 minutes till the school door opens. Goodell, a former prosecuting attorney disagreed with Bledsoe when he asked Brown if he wishes for Linda to attend to a school near their house. Huxman declared that the court can take judicial notice on how most parents prefer having their children attending a school near their homes.