Brown v Board of Education Trial: Emotional Argument

May 17th, 1954, The Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional by the 14th amendment and changed schools for the rest of history.  This meant that Brown had won the case and that the term commonly known as "separate but equal" was no longer in effect. There are many arguments to be made in either direction for and against the ruling of Brown v. Board of Ed. My specific argument is the emotional section. Here are the emotional arguments in favor of Brown v. Board of Ed.

    The first big argument is the psychological harm that can be caused by the “separate but equal” policy. There is a multitude of evidence that segregation had a serious psychological impact on children, this led to feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem. This is clearly an issue and something that isn’t fair to the youth considering they are just kids.

    Another argument is that “separate but equal” isn’t really equal. That phrase was challenged in Brown v. Board of Education and was eventually understood to be not the proper policy. It was rightfully argued that segregated schools were not truly equal being that the  facilities, resources, and opportunities provided to black students were often worse than those offered to white students. This just showed the inequality in the segregated system.

    A personally underrated argument would be the effect on the dreams and aspirations of the students living under “separate but equal”.  One thing that rings a bell when you think of the emotional narrative in Brown v. Board of Education is the dreams and aspirations of black children. Segregation limited their opportunities by providing an education that was not nearly as good as others. But in addition to that, it prepares their brain that they will not be able to succeed because of the color of their skin. Every child no matter the race should have the right to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential without racial barriers.

    One thing I didn’t know about until my research would be the causation of family separation. Racial segregation often came with families being divided.  This meant siblings attending different schools solely because of their race. Try to imagine the pain and disruption caused by separating families based on race and the desire for families to be able to share the same educational experiences.  This is not something many people had and have to deal with, but when you think about it, this can have a huge effect on ones emotions.

    And finally, an aspect of human emotions that is always prevalent is the sense of belonging. The emotional toll that segregation had on the sense of belonging within a community. African American students were often isolated from their white peers, creating a sense of alienation and loneliness. Imagine seeing other children your age, but you cannot meet them and play with them because you have different color skin.  This can even have an effect on the white students who just can't comprehend why they can't make friends with the black students.  

    These emotional arguments played a huge role in shaping public opinion and pushing support for the legal challenge to segregation. They showed the major struggle for civil rights and equality.