Answer: Separate but equal educational facilities for racial minorities is inherently unequal, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Explanation: In 1896, the supreme court ruled on the landmark case "Plessy v. Ferguson. This case arose when Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act, which required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. Through this case, the supreme court decided that segregation did not in itself constitute unlawful discrimination.
The basis for this ruling was the "separate but equal principle," which asserts that racial segregation is constitutional as long as the separate facilities provided for blacks and whites are roughly equal.
In 1953 however, the Brown v. Board of Education case reached the supreme court as multiple cases regarding segregation of public schools converged. To promote civil rights through the U.S. judiciary, Supreme court Chief justice Earl Warren campaigned and achieved a unanimous ruling within the senate. In 1954, the Supreme Court held that “separate but equal” facilities are inherently unequal and violate the protections of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court reasoned that the segregation of public education based on race instilled a sense of inferiority that had a hugely detrimental effect on the education and personal growth of African American children. Warren based much of his opinion on information from social science studies rather than court precedent.
