Why Should Americans Care About Brown Verses Board of Education

      Oliver Brown and his family lived in an integrated neighborhood in Topeka, Kansas. When his daughters, Cheryl and Linda, were younger, they would play with their neighborhood friends. Some of them were black and some of them were white. They questioned why they had to go to a school that was farther away than their white friends’ school (Chappell). The reason was that the public schools in Topeka were segregated. Their father, along with other African- American families argued against Topeka’s board of education. Eventually, schools were finally integrated with black and white students. Brown verses Board of Education was a very important event in history because it helped give equal rights to African-Americans in the United States.
      Oliver Brown’s two daughters attended an all African-American school. They had to walk over a mile and through a railway to get there (Almasi). They were not allowed to attend Monroe Elementary School, a school that was located a few blocks away from their home (Allen). Brown tried to enroll his daughters into that school. They were not allowed to attend because they were the wrong race. There was a Kansas law that required African-Americans to attend only segregated schools. Brown, along with other families joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to protest. Leaders from NAACP would try to voice their opinion to the city schools. From early in the morning, they would wait to get a chance to voice their arguments. Waiting did not get them anywhere so they gathered parents to serve as plaintiffs for a trial against the school board.
      The first plaintiff was Lucinda Todd, a teacher from Atchison, Kansas. She was the first person to respond to the letter in support of the trial. She put her career on the line because the board of education said that if any teachers were involved they could end up losing their job. Not many people wanted to become a plaintiff because they did not want their career in jeopardy. Once it became more popular, more people started joining (Chappell). They started a lawsuit against Topeka’s board of education because the Kansas state law went against The Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees all Americans to have equal rights and no state should deny the privileges of any person. By 1954 the Brown verses Board of Education began (Brown v. Board). Brown was one of many who petitioned against Topeka’s board of education. At first Brown did not want to be part of the case but he finally agreed to it for the benefit of the children (Chappell). During the trial, Thurgood Marshall, the plaintiffs’ attorney argued that segregated schools were not created equally and could not become equal. Marshall claimed that, “the only way for the Court to uphold segregation in 1954 was "to find that for some reason Negroes are inferior to all other human beings." ” (Brown v. Board). The court highlighted the importance of education and reasoned that segregated schools were not given the same rights as the schools with white student bodies. (Brown v. Board).
      There was very little change immediately after the case. Towns that were reluctant to have integrated schools would close down their public schools and reopen them as private schools. These private schools had student bodies made up of entirely white students (DISCovering World History). This left the African American students in that town without any schools to attend. If they were able to attend another school, they were often harassed or threatened. They would still attend that school everyday (Southern Schools Found). The reason why they did not leave, even with the abuse, was that they wanted to gain a better education (Johnson). After fifteen years, most public schools were not segregated (Southern Schools Found). Monroe Elementary’s student body then changed to about 25% white. (White). By then the case was starting to have a bigger impact on more of the school boards in the South. The Brown verses Board of Education had more than an impact on schools, but also for other people’s careers and lifestyle.
      The Brown verses Board of Education case was a starting point of the civil rights movement. The case led to many boycotts and protests. Lunch counter sit-Ins were held, as they led to the end of segregated restaurants. African-Americans were not allowed to eat in certain restaurants that did not want to serve black people. They would stay seated at the restaurant’s counters until the workers agreed to give them service. At times, the police would not do anything about it as long as they stayed peaceful. By then the workers of the restaurant would close down early, but the following days the protest would happen again (McElrath). One boycott took place because of the city buses. It later allowed blacks to sit in the front of the bus (New York Times). African-Americans would avoid riding the city bus, and the buses would eventually start losing business. To get the African-Americans’ business back the buses would have to let them be able to sit in the front. These boycotts and protests help break the barrier of public places that were segregated.
      On the down side, factories started to fire more of their employees, mostly African- Americans during the 1970s. However, other African- Americans were getting a better education and were getting better jobs in return. The more successful African- Americans would move out of Eastern and Central Topeka to the more Western side. Those who were left in Eastern Topeka became the underclass and ended up in poverty (Time). Those without a high school degree or higher was four times as more likely to end up in poverty than someone who had a college degree or more (Almasi). The unemployment percentage lowered to 7.3 percent in 1999, which was about half as much twenty years ago (World and I). Some people who acquired jobs did not matter what they had to do. The only thing that mattered to them was that they were going to make a good living if they kept working hard. The impact of what Brown verses Board of Education also inspired others to work towards a better future.
      Once schools became integrated, many African-Americans took full advantage of the new opportunities given to them. They were given a better education in better-built schools
rather than a small, crumbling structure with limited curriculum. A man named James Meredith, a U.S. Air Force veteran, was attending Jackson State College (Almasi). Before the Brown verses Board of Education started, he tried to become the first African-American to be accepted by the University of Mississippi. He was rejected twice, only because of his ethnicity (Bruner). After Brown’s case, Meredith was able to transfer from Jackson State College to the University of Mississippi. He graduated a year later, and also gained a law degree from the University of Columbia (Almasi). Many other people were also able to attend any school they wanted and they pursued any career for their future without being judged by their race.
      If we are all equal then is it fair to separate each other by race? If we are all equal, why were African- Americans treated inferior to whites? Oliver Brown, along with other African- American families, fought to be given equal rights. Without Brown verses Board of Education, segregated schools would have been around much longer. Brown verses Board of Education is an important event in history because it gave children of different race more opportunity for their future. The school structure for blacks were in bad shape and the curriculum they learned was much more limited than in the schools for whites. By not having segregated schools, African-American students were able to attend the school of their choice and obtain the same education as whites. By African-Americans receiving a better education more of them were able to receive better jobs and make a more successful living. After Brown verses Board of Education took place more acts to gain equal rights occurred. By those acts happening more places stopped being segregated and began to also serve African-Americans.
      Americans should be aware that Brown verses Board of Education was the starting point of equality throughout the United States. If not for Oliver Brown, the people who followed his ways such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. would not have made their changes in society. Without those changes, we may still be segregated among races. The population also would not be as educated or employed as we are now. Oliver Brown helped break the barriers of segregated schools to give everyone equal rights. Most importantly, Oliver Brown helped give everyone more opportunity for his or her future.


Works Cited

Allen, T. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2008, from The Call: http://www.kccall.com/article.cfm?articleid=2783

Almasi, D. W. (2004). Providing Opportunity. Retrieved October 3, 2008, from htpp://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/sand07018: http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=SRC-1&docId=A130293632&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=sand07018&version=1.0

Bruner, Jerome. Spartacus Educational. James Meredith. October 15, 2008 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmeredith.htm

Chappell, Kevin. "Topeka 50 years later: the real story behind the Brown in Brown v. Board." Ebony. 59. 7 (May 2004): 114(4). Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. HIGH TECH CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL. 3 Oct. 2008

DISCovering U.S. History. (2003). Brown v. Board of Education Ruling, 1954. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/sand07018: http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=SRC-1&docId=EJ2104240331&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=sand07018&version=1.0??

DISCovering U.S. History. (2003). Southern Schools Found Least Racially, Segregated, March 11, 1975. Retrieved October 3, 2008, from http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/sand07018: http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=SRC-1&docId=EJ2104241580&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=sand07018&version=1.0??

DISCovering World History. (2003). Brown v. Board of Education Ruling, May 17, 1954. Retrieved October 3, 2008, from http//infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/sand07018: http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=SRC-1&docId=EJ2105240772&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=sand07018&version=1.0

Johnson, W.A. (2004). The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education. Retrieved October 15, 2008, from http://www.ci.rochester.ny.us/index.cfm?id=698

McElrath, Jessica. About.com. October 15, 2008

Opinion. (2004). Retrieved October 3, 2008, from New York Times: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0D9163FF935A25756C0A9629C8B63??

White, J. E. (1987). Equality. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from Time: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964893,00.html

World and I. (2004). Introduction: Brown v. Board at 50. Retrieved October 2,
2008, from http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/sand07018: http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=SRC-1&docId=A130293673&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=sand07018&version=1.0

Art Study 2

Tantric Detail I. 1980
Oil on canvas
50 1/8 x 34 1/8" (127.3 x 86.7 cm)

      

      

      This art piece by Jasper Johns is called Tantric Detail I. Trantric Detail I is an illustration of a skeleton. The painting has a repetition of lines throughout the entire piece. Johns had also added a skull and then above there appears to be a portion of a bone, or what could be the brain of the skeleton. The colors used in this piece are mainly dark and gray. There is also some use of primary colors. If you look carefully, there are traces of white and shades of brown between the repetitions of the lines. The overall coloring is a slightly drab, but Johns’ creative use of reds, blues, and yellows, on only certain parts of the canvas makes the piece look more interesting.

      The skull represents human life. A skull is a familiar object, and as humans we are all created with one. To the left of the painting are the primary colors that are brighter and are more vibrant than the rest of the piece. It is slightly shaped like a person and symbolizes the character of the angel on your shoulder that tells you right from wrong. It represents the optimistic side of us. To the right of the painting are the darker colors and it symbolizes the eviler side with temptation and what is wrong. That side represents the pessimist part of us. Between the two sides is the brain. The brain resembles our mind, thoughts, and our conscience. The two sides are bigger than the brain because. It shows that our mind tends to wander off from time to time and that it is always consumed with different thoughts each day. With this art piece Jasper Johns wanted the viewer to have a different perspective on how the human mind works and how we think about things that happen everyday.

Images Cited:

The Museum of Modern Art. MoMA The Museum of Modern Art. October 29, 2008
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/1996/johns/pages/johns.tantric.detail.html

Art Study 1

      

      One of Jasper Johns most famous pieces of art is Map. He created Map in the year 1961. It is an oil on canvas painting that is 78 x 123 1/8 inches. It is a representation of the map of the United States.

      Map is a large painting that mainly uses primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. There are traces of white that covers and sometimes blends with the colors that are beneath it. There are also traces of black that emphasize certain parts of the piece. The black is also mixed with the other colors to produce darker and muddier tones. If you observe carefully you’re able to see the different techniques Johns used to apply the paint. For example, he painted Ontario with watered down paint to transition into painting the Great Lakes. Although the colors that were used are limited, the brushstrokes Johns uses throughout the painting keep it from having a lackluster appearance. Johns had also labeled the map by stenciling the names of each state and each ocean. The font of the stencils is generic to give off a comforting reaction. The map itself adds structure to the painting. The reason why Johns chose to paint a map may have been that it is a very familiar image. It is also unthreatening and not very valued. Because of those reasons, viewers are able to accept the changes and alterations that happen to it’s image.
      John created Map at the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. That was the time when the Peace Corps was being formed and many events occurred to act upon the realities of segregation in society. It was also the year when John F. Kennedy was elected president. The United States was starting to take on a new look. Map signifies the changes that happened in America. And, Johns wanted the viewer to rethink about their views on the United States.


Works and Images Cited:

Philip Yenawine. Artchive. October 28, 2008.
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/J/johns/map.jpg.html

Jasper Johns

        Jasper Johns was born in 1930 in Augusta, Georgia, and was raised in Allentown, South Carolina. While growing up he always knew he wanted to become an artist. For college he attended the University of Carolina and Columbia. His art teacher recommended moving to New York to further pursue his career in art. He later moved to New York in 1948, and there he attended Parsons School of Design for a semester. After serving two years in the army during the Korean War, he became friends with artist Robert Rauschenberg, composer John Cage, and choreographer Merce Cunningham. Together they created window displays for Tiffany’s. While doing that Johns and Rauschenberg explored more of the New York art scene. Johns became very interested in the works of Marcel Duchamp, which was based on a series of found objects.
      Johns presented opposites, contradictions, paradoxes, and ironies, much like Duchamp. In the mid 1950s Johns focused on bull’s-eye targets, American flags, numerals, and letters as subjects for his artworks. One of his techniques was altering the color of the object. Another technique of his is repeats or multiples of the objects within the same canvas. And sometimes, he would also add body parts to his pieces.
      Some of Jasper Johns most famous works are the Flag, Map, and Three Flags. He worked on Flag from 1954-1955. He recreated the American flag using oil and collage on fabric and mounted it on plywood. Map was made in 1961. It is a map of the United States, but the colors of it are altered to be only red, white, blue, and yellow. He also stenciled on the names of each state and the oceans. He created Three Flags in 1958. It is the American flag but repeated three times inside the canvas. With his artwork, Jasper Johns wants his viewer to see a different meaning in the object that is already know to the mind.


Works Cited:

Art and Culture. Jasper Johns. October 26, 2008.
http://www.artandculture.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ACLive.woa/wa/artist?id=82

PBS. American Masters. October 26, 2008. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/jasper-johns/about-the-painter/54/

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. October 26, 2008.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/john/hd_john.htm

Wikipedia. Jasper Johns. October 26, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Johns

Pop Art

      Popular Art is the complete name for Pop Art. The Pop Art movement started in Britain around the 1950s. It reached the United Stated in the 1960s. It was one of the most artist movements of the twentieth century. Pop Art was aimed around the changes that occurred before World War II and the growing materialism in society.
      Pop Art was considered a counter-attack against Abstract Expressionism. It was a form of rebellion by turning common items and images into “art”. Pop Art portrays the elements of pop culture. It uses common everyday objects, images in advertising and television, comic strips, and famous icons. Art critic, Harold Rosenberg, once said that Pop Art was, “Like a joke without humour, told over and over again until it begins to sound like a threat...” (Get Pop Art). Pop Art represented a combination of humor, criticism, and irony, this put the movement into term of everyday life. It made fun of the seriousness of the art world and it got rid of the line between commercial arts and fine arts. Pop Art brought a wider audience than the art world has ever had before.
        Some of the most famous pop artists of their time were Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein. Andy Warhol was known for using everyday objects along with famous icons. Some of his famous works included Campbell’s soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and famous people such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Robert Rauschenberg was known for combining both painting and sculpture into one work of art. One of his famous pieces is Canyon, which he made in 1959. It is a painting with a bald eagle coming out of the canvas. Roy Lichtenstein was known for using a comic strip style in his paintings. One of his famous art works is Drowning Girl, which he made in 1963. Pop artists brought fine art into the mainstream of American culture.

Works Cited:

Biddington’s Pop Art Gallery. Pop Art. October 21, 2008.
http://www.biddingtons.com/content/pedigreepop.html

Charles Fazzino. Charles Fazzino and the History of Pop Art. October 21, 2008.
http://www.fazzino.com/pop-art-history-evolution.htm

Get Pop Art. Pop Art Movement. October 26, 2008.
http://www.getpopart.com/pop-art.html

Wikipedia. Andy Warhol. October 26, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/andy_warhol

Wikipedia. Robert Rauschenberg. October 26, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/robert_rauschenberg

World Wide Art Resources. Art History: Pop Art: (1958-1975). October 21, 2008.
http://wwar.com/masters/movements/pop_art.html