Brown v. Board of Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Brown v. Board of Education - Research Paper Example The complainants were thirteen Topeka parents on behalf of their twenty children† (Patterson, 2001). They wanted the school segregation – separate schools for white and black pupils as it was recommended (but not required) by the 1879 Kansas law - to be abolished in Topeka. The named complainant was Oliver Brown, whose friend convinced him to join the suit. His third-grade daughter Linda had to attend the school for black children far away that situated far from her house, while the one for white children was close. The District Court ruled in favor of the Board of Education grounding its decision by the decision of U.S. Supreme Court set in Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896), according to which the schools had to be â€Å"separated but equal† (means equal in facilities). In 1954 the case was reargued in the Supreme Court. The question was not whether the educational establishments for children with different color of skin offered "equal" opportunities, but whether th e policy of separate schools for black and white children answered to the Constitution. The justices answered with a strong "no": â€Å"Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental development of negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they would receive in a racial[ly] integrated school system... We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place† (Patterson, 2001). The decision publicized on May 17, 1954 appeared for be the victory for black people. The government stated that the white and black children will be able to attend the same schools by 1963. Ralph Ellison wrote: â€Å"What a wonderful world of possibilities is unfolded for the children† (cited in Rosenberg 1991). From the first sight it seems that Brown is one of the decisive moments in American history. However, the more one investigates the issue, the more doubts arise. The ques tion is has Brown case been really so important in achieving those wonderful things Ellison wrote about? I would like to focus on only two key legacies of the case: its influence on the struggle of black people for their rights and its influence on desegregation of educational establishments for black and white pupils and the quality of education in these establishments. From the first sight it seems that Brown case impact on the civil rights movement is very clear as it served as the stimulus for the well-known Montgomery school bus boycott. Another milestone was the Little Rock case happened in 1957. The Supreme Court decision made President Dwight Eisenhower involve the troops to enforce it, which was a token of desegregation. But even this token would never take place if not Brown case. At the seventh anniversary of Brown, on May 17, 1961 in New Orleans the Freedom Rides were scheduled to come. His timing is another evidence of symbolic value of Brown case decision. Unfortunatel y they did not reach New Orleans in time due to strong opposition. Well-known black students’ sit-ins in Greensboro were inspired by desegregation of the schools in the South between 1954 and 1960. So, as we can see there was a chain of causations. However, some historians and among them Gerald Rosenberg, think that Brown case has not made such a considerable impact on the escalation of the struggle for civil rights in late 1950s or 1960s. He indicates that the press gave too little attention to Brown case in general

The Controversy Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

The Controversy Analysis - Essay Example When this got to the department of criminal justice, they complied and eliminated to provision of last meal in Texas. By examining some of the various article about the matter, I will discuss what various individuals think about the last meal and the strategies writers have used to strengthen their argument on the subject such as foreshadowing, pathos and logos. In Molly Hennessey’s article, it is evident that the writer wishes to appeal to the readers’ emotion and outrage by describing in vivid detail the quality and quantity of food that was requested by the prisoner as his last meal. The menu which has been described in other quarters as having been enough to feed a family reads like something out of a fives star hotel rather than the content of prison kitchen (Johnson). â€Å"two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeà ±os; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers (Johnson). The first thought that comes to one’s mind is how much did it cost to make that much, and that good food? In addition, why would they make so much food simply because a condemned man requested when it is illogical that even he could not have eaten even a quarter of it? The description easily appeals to the reader’s pathos and likely makes them feel a sense of outrage even before they have read the essay. Furthermore, the writer has foreshadowed a scenario where the prisoner either did not finish or refused to eat the food creating anticipation of more conflict. However, this was not the first application of pathos, from a logical point of view, it would be unfair to blame the prisoner solely for what happened