NAACP Executive Secretary Walter White (left) with the organization's legal defense team from 1933.
The landmark school desegregation case decided by the Supreme Court in 1954 was only the beginning of the civil rights struggle that must endure, concluded two of the principal architects of the Brown v. Board of Education case during a Library discussion on Nov. 9.
"The Brown decision has been touted as a great change in American life," observed Judge Robert L. Carter. "But we're still living in a society of white supremacy and black subordination."
"We must connect the dots between the early struggle in the courts and the later struggle in the streets," said historian John Hope Franklin, who worked with Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to craft the Brown v. Board case.
"Until there are as many black men in college as in jail, as many blacks as whites with a decent place to live, until there is a spirit of complete acceptance of status and condition, then the Brown decision, while a landmark, can only be regarded as the beginning of a struggle that must go on," Franklin continued.
In the final event held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition "‘With an Even Hand;' Brown v Board at Fifty," which closed on Nov. 13, Franklin and Carter came to the Library to discuss the impact of the case on their lives and careers. Instead, the two discussed the legacy of the court's 1954 decision. Both concluded that the struggle is far from over.
At nearly 90, both men are still committed to the struggle for racial equality. Though they might admit to having slowed down physically, both wield their powerful words to get the message across. Both have recently completed their memoirs to be published in 2005.
Franklin recalled that Thurgood Marshall, lead counsel in the Brown case, enlisted him to research the history and intent of Reconstruction, as well as the 14th Amendment (rights and privileges of citizenship) and its relevance to public education. The strategy was meant to provide the attorneys with knowledge of the social and legal landscape following the Civil War.
"I wondered if they might not leave the legal profession and become historians," joked Franklin. "The Reconstruction period needed historians."
While working at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Franklin at first mistook Robert Carter for an office messenger but then came to know him as a brilliant legal strategist. Carter's task was to craft a strategy to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson, the "separate but equal" doctrine that was first applied to accommodations on public transportation. He needed to effectively argue that the same argument should not be applied to public education.
To demonstrate the adverse effect of segregation on black children, Carter enlisted the help of psychologist Otto Kleinberg. In the 1930s Kleinberg was influential in debunking ideas about race and genetics, including the theory that some racial groups are more intelligent than others. Kleinberg conducted some interesting studies about the performance of black children in schools in the North as compared with the South.
Carter also drew upon the "Doll Test" conducted in the 1940s by psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark. They developed a test using four dolls, identical except for the skin color. They asked the children a series of questions about the dolls, including which doll they liked best. Most of the black children chose the white doll. After the testing was completed, Clark concluded that "prejudice, discrimination, and segregation" caused African American children to develop a sense of inferiority and self-hatred. The results of the tests were used during court cases, including Brown v. Board, to show the negative effects of segregation on black children.
Armed with this research and other data, Carter stated the case against the constitutionality of segregation in the public schools: "It is our position that any legislative or governmental classification must fall with an even hand on all persons similarly situated."
"The doctrine of ‘separate but equal' was never evaluated by the courts for its application in education," said Carter. "We told the court that it had the opportunity for the first time to evaluate ‘separate but equal' in education and to find that it has no application and should not be applied. Chief Justice Earl Warren bought the argument," Carter said.
When asked why the strategy was successful, Carter responded, "Luck, and the time period." Alluding to today's growing conservative political climate, Carter said "I've successfully argued 21 cases before the Supreme Court, but I doubt I'd win any of those case today."
Continuing to focus on the current social climate, Carter said, "Fifty years later, the separation continues. We took the government out of race relations, but we still have two separate societies, not mandated by government but voluntarily by all of us. There's been no public interest or activity on this issue for a long time. There's more interest in how we look and what we're wearing. It's time to put the issue on a public stage again and seek to eliminate the barriers that separate us."
For Franklin, the core question is what changed as the result of Brown v. Board. "Brown didn't change things," said Franklin. "The decision meant that now you can change things if you want to change things. Don't wait for change to happen. Make it happen." "You can't be concerned about losing," added Carter. "All losing means is that you have to pick yourself up and try again."
When asked about taking responsibility for addressing the problems confronting the black community today, Franklin expressed his concern for the trend toward less government involvement. "They'll tell you the smaller the government, the better, but don't believe it," Franklin said. "In a democracy, the first responsibility is that of the government. But ultimately we're all responsible."
