Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954): List 1

In 1951, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) recruited 13 parents to file a class action suit on behalf of their children. The named plaintiff, Oliver Brown, was the father of a third grader who, denied admission to a neighborhood school because of his race, was forced to walk six blocks to take a bus to a black school. On reviewing the District Court's ruling based on the precedent of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court decided that segregated public schools were unequal and unconstitutional. This led to the Civil Rights Act of 1957. These words are from the unanimous opinion written by Earl Warren. Read the full text here.

This list covers vocabulary up through paragraph 10 of the decision.
14 words 154 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. segregation
    a social system that provides different facilities for minority groups
    In each instance, they had been denied admission to schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race. This segregation was alleged to deprive the plaintiffs of the equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment.
  2. deprive
    keep from having, keeping, or obtaining
    In each instance, they had been denied admission to schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race. This segregation was alleged to deprive the plaintiffs of the equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment.
  3. doctrine
    a belief accepted as authoritative by some group or school
    In each of the cases other than the Delaware case, a three-judge federal district court denied relief to the plaintiffs on the so-called "separate but equal" doctrine announced by this Court in Plessy v. Ferguson. Under that doctrine, equality of treatment is accorded when the races are provided substantially equal facilities, even though these facilities be separate.
  4. accord
    allow to have
    Under that doctrine, equality of treatment is accorded when the races are provided substantially equal facilities, even though these facilities be separate.
  5. contend
    make the subject of dispute or litigation
    The plaintiffs contend that segregated public schools are not "equal" and cannot be made "equal," and that hence they are deprived of the equal protection of the laws.
  6. propound
    put forward, as of an idea
    Argument was heard in the 1952 Term, and reargument was heard this Term on certain questions propounded by the Court.
  7. construe
    make sense of; assign a meaning to
    In the first cases in this Court construing the Fourteenth Amendment, decided shortly after its adoption, the Court interpreted it as proscribing all state-imposed discriminations against the Negro race.
  8. proscribe
    command against
    In the first cases in this Court construing the Fourteenth Amendment, decided shortly after its adoption, the Court interpreted it as proscribing all state-imposed discriminations against the Negro race.
  9. qualification
    an attribute that must be met or complied with
    In the instant cases, that question is directly presented. Here, unlike Sweatt v. Painter, there are findings below that the Negro and white schools involved have been equalized, or are being equalized, with respect to buildings, curricula, qualifications and salaries of teachers, and other "tangible" factors.
  10. determine
    establish after a calculation, investigation, or experiment
    We must consider public education in the light of its full development and its present place in American life throughout the Nation. Only in this way can it be determined if segregation in public schools deprives these plaintiffs of the equal protection of the laws.
  11. compulsory
    required by rule
    Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society.
  12. function
    the actions and activities assigned to a person or group
    Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments.
  13. foundation
    education or instruction in the fundamentals of a field
    It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship.
  14. principal
    main or most important
    Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment.
Created on Tue Jun 03 14:33:32 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 03 14:36:59 EDT 2025)

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