Lesson One: Teacher Lecture
- 1. U.S. SUPREME COURT CASES AND STATE POLICIES. CIVIL RIGHTS
- 2. TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE! USING YOUR GUIDED WORKSHEET WRITE DOWN ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING COURT CASES.(SAVE ROOM, YOU WILL BE ADDING TO YOUR NOTES) WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED, COLLABORATE WITH YOUR SMALL GROUP AND DISCUSS YOUR FINDINGS. • Dred Scott V. Sandford (1857) • Plessy V. Ferguson (1896) • Brown V. Board of Education (1954) • Regents of the University of California V. Bakke (1978) • California Proposition 209 (1996)
- 3. DREDD SCOTT V. SANDFORD (1857) Dredd Scott was a slave from Missouri who was brought to Illinois by his master. When his master Emerson Sandford died in 1843, Emerson’s wife, Eliza Sandford took legal possession of Dredd Scott and his family. After a failed attempt to buy his family’s freedom, Dredd Scott sued Eliza Sandford claiming he was legally free because he and his family lived in a territory where slavery was banned. The state court ruled in favor of Dredd Scott but his wages during the court proceedings were withheld leading to an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. The Missouri Supreme Court overturned the State’s decision and ruled in favor of Sandford claiming that Scott could not sue in federal court because he had been deemed a slave under Missouri law. Chief Justice Roger Taney claimed that Scott could not file a lawsuit because he was not a person, he was property and therefore he had no rights.
- 4. DREDD SCOTT
- 5. DREDD SCOTT V. SANDFORD (1857) • Why do you think that the Supreme Court ruled against Dredd Scott? • What were the consequences for Scott and other African Americans during this time. • What is the significance of the court ruling? How does the ruling define race in America at this time?
- 6. PLESSY V. FERGUSON (1896) In 1892, Homer Plessy was found guilty for violating Louisiana state law because he refused to move from the 1st class carriage of a train to the “colored” carriage. Under Louisiana state law, Plessy who was 1/8 black and 7/8 white, was classified as an African-American. Plessy challenged racial segregation in public places under the doctrine “separate but equal”. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1896 that blacks and whites could receive separate services so long as they were equivalent. The Plessy V Ferguson ruling legally accepted the “separate but equal” policy and allowed further segregation laws to be enforced.
- 7. HOMER PLESSY
- 8. PLESSY V. FERGUSON (1896) • What does this court case tell you about race relations in America at this time? • In your own words, define separate but equal. • What is important about the outcome of the Plessy v. Ferguson court ruling? • If you had to describe yourself as a fraction, could you? What would you be?
- 9. BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954) Brown Vs Board of Education was a collection of court cases that challenged racial segregation in public schools violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Linda Brown’s father, Oliver Brown was the lead plaintiff. He sued the Topeka Kansas Board of Education because his daughter was denied entry into a white public school. Attorney Thurgood Marshall, working with the NAACP, brought the court case before the Supreme Court. He argued that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. The supreme court ruled that segregated schools were unequal and overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling of “separate but equal”.
- 10. OLIVER BROWN
- 11. BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954) • What do you think the implications were for segregated schools after the ruling of the Brown v. Board of Education case? Did they change? Did the schools close? • Do you think public schools were able to facilitate all students and enforce equal education after the court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education? • What problems or concerns do you think students faced in school in 1955? • What would public education look like today if the Supreme Court had not ruled in favor of Brown?
- 12. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA V. BAKKE (1978) • Allan Bakke was a 35 year old Marine veteran who was denied admittance to University of California, Davis Medical School because of the university’s racial quotas. He was denied admittance despite having a higher GPA than other minority applicants. At the time of his application, 16 minorities were accepted over him because of affirmative action. The case was eventually called before the U.S. Supreme Court and challenged affirmative action. The grounds for Allan Bakke’s case was that he was excluded from admission to the university solely on the basis of race. The Supreme Court ruled in the favor of Bakke and struck down the affirmative action policy used by the university, claiming that the university violated the rights of white applicants.
- 13. ALLAN BAKKE
- 14. REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA V. BAKKE (1978) • What was the significance of the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke? • What does this court case imply about affirmative action? • What would you do in Allan Bakke’s situation? • Do you think there are affirmative action policies still in practice today?
- 15. CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 209 (1996) • California Proposition 209, also referred to as the California Civil Rights Initiative, is a California ballot proposition approved in 1996. The proposition, modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, amended the California state constitution to prohibit state government institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity during employment application processing. It also prohibited considering the above in the areas of pubic employment, public contracting, and public education.
- 17. CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 209 (1996) • How did proposition 209 change employment and educational opportunities for people in California? • Do you think proposition 209 benefits or hurts minorities? Explain your answer. • How has proposition 209 shaped California into what we can see today? • Do you support or oppose this proposition?
- 18. GROUP COLLABORATION AND ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS • Move into five groups. • Using your guided worksheet, discuss and compare notes with your group. (ten minutes) • Each group will be assigned one court case or policy to lead a class discussion based on the answers to the teacher lecture questions, as well as providing additional information to facilitate a robust student led exchange of ideas.