2004 Winning Law Day Essay By Cyrus Rahnema Bearden High School Knoxville Download the essay in Microsoft Word On the verge of the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, it is a time to reflect upon the metamorphosis, triggered by this epic case, which this country has endured in every facet of society. Indubitably, after half a century, the impact of Brown has evolved substantially, applied and interpreted with the changing times. Perhaps most dramatic litigation concerning liberty and equality since the Declaration of Independence, Brown v. Board was the catalyst of the Civil Rights movement; it sparked hope, brought vehement opposition, transformed ideas, raised questions, and set precedent for issues to come. With the appointment of Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1953, the Supreme Court experienced somewhat of a libertarian renaissance. Unified under the leadership of Warren, the prominent liberal ideologies such as Hugo Black, John Harlan, William Douglas, and Thurgood Marshall took a major step towards equal rights by ruling that the precedent established in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson, which stated that facilities may be segregated as long as they were equal, was paradoxically unconstitutional. Warren held that “in the field of public education, the doctrine ‘separate but equal’ has no place.” Segregated schools were, in the opinion of the Warren court, “inherently unequal” and thus a direct violation of the protections bestowed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Revolutionary and controversial, Brown was not without opposition. While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 strengthened the decree of the Court, permitting federal funds to be impounded from schools continuing to segregate and allocating standing to the Department of Justice to file lawsuits seeking desegregation, many legal loopholes and vague clauses fueled the interest of segregationists such as Alabama Governor George Wallace who resisted integration in his dramatic stand at the University of Alabama school house door. One such ambiguity, resulting in the delay of action, was the Brown II decision requiring schools to desegregate with “all deliberate speed” without defining precise deadlines or outlining specified progress. Yet the landmark ruling was met with mixed emotions - “jubilation, optimism, and hope filled my home,” recalled one young black girl; others such as Zora Neale Hurston, an African American author, shed a different light on the matter - “How much satisfaction can I get from a court order for somebody to associate with me who does not wish me near them?” Over this half-century Brown has been impetus for monumental progress but is not without its share of losses. Chartering new territory, Brown raised the questions of desegregation versus integration - the necessity and righteousness of busing along with the sociological impact incurred in an artificial environment of racial quotas - to what extent was Brown meant to rule as precedent? Other minority movements - feminism, gay rights, provisions for the disabled and poor, all fueled by Brown, represented a universal change in society’s devotion to equality. Brown, when interpreted literally was only designed to integrate public schools. Nonetheless the far-reaching effects were felt in everything from the desegregation of public transportation to golf courses to restaurants. The ripples continue outward after fifty years and are clear in current issues such as homosexual marriage and affirmative action. This landmark decision was more than an issue concerning young Linda Brown and her education; it was beyond the focused efforts of the NAACP lawyers, above the traditions and opinions of the close-minded factions who opposed it; the fiftieth anniversary of Brown v Board of Education is a testament to the importance, the impact, the undeniable step towards greater equality in this nation. Brown opened windows for the minority in every sense; inherent in it was revolutionary ideology, which consisted of philosophy outside of the box, beyond conformity and the status quo. A cornerstone of equality, it is ammunition for changes to come. On this fiftieth anniversary, recognize the strength of the minority and celebrate a nation’s willingness to unite and grow through its law.