How did Brown v. Board of Education overturn Plessy v. Ferguson?
A.
The Court ruled that the Plessy ruling applied only to private schools.
B.
The Court ruled that separate white and black school systems were inherently unequal.
C.
The Court ruled that separate but equal school systems could continue if the states voted for it.
D.
The Court ruled that segregation could continue if there were an equal number of black and white schools.
This question confuses me, my lesson doesn't help. Im saying B thru process of elimination but...
Your lesson I am fairly certain did answer it. Plessy said separate schools were ok, as long as they were equal. Brown decision was that “separate but equal” was a myth, and in fact, separate was not equal, ever.
OK, how about D?
You're on the right track! The correct answer is B. The Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson case from 1896. Plessy v. Ferguson established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which allowed for racial segregation as long as the separate facilities were deemed equal.
To understand how Brown v. Board of Education overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, it's important to know about the events leading up to the Supreme Court decision. In Brown v. Board of Education, a group of African American plaintiffs argued that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal treatment under the law.
The Supreme Court examined the effects of segregation on the minds of African American children and concluded that even if separate facilities were equal in tangible factors like funding or resources, racial segregation had a detrimental impact on the educational opportunities available to African American students. The Court's ruling emphasized that segregation created a sense of inferiority among African American students, which was inherently unequal.
Therefore, by ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the Brown v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court explicitly declared that separate white and black school systems were inherently unequal, thereby overturning the "separate but equal" principle established by Plessy v. Ferguson.
Remember, when you encounter a confusing question, it can be helpful to eliminate the answer choices that are clearly incorrect, like options A, C and D in this case. Breaking down the question and understanding the context behind the Supreme Court decisions can also assist you in selecting the correct answer.