Question

What was the difference between the Supreme Court decisions in Sweatt v. Painter and Brown v. Board of Education? Sweatt ruled that “separate but equal” graduate and professional schools were constitutional. Brown overturned that decision. Sweatt struck down “separate but equal” public schools. Brown struck down “separate but equal” graduate schools. Sweatt struck down “separate but equal” graduate and professional schools. Brown struck down “separate but equal” public schools. Sweatt concerned African American voting rights. Brown concerned equal access to education for African Americans.

Answer 1

The correct answer is: Sweatt struck down “separate but equal” graduate and professional schools. Brown struck down “separate but equal” public schools.

Indeed, Herman Marion Sweatt, an African-American student tried to enroll in the University of Texas’ Scholl of Law in 1945. His entry was refused due to the fact that integrated education was contrary to the state’s Constitution. He filed a lawsuit against the decision and the state responded by building a new segregated Law School in Houston Texas for African American students. He was able to win the case in the US Supreme Court because his attorneys demonstrated that the proposed new facilities were of a much inferior quality than the ones in the University of Texas. They were also underfunded, understaffed and its library was much smaller. This was found to violate the separated but equal principle.

The same rationale was applied in Brown v. Board of Education in 1951. 13 African American families filed the lawsuit because their children had been refused admission in white public schools which were located very close to their homes. It was proven by their litigators that their black schools were not only of considerable lower quality but were too far from their homes.

Answer 2

The correct answer is "Sweatt ruled that “separate but equal” graduate and professional schools were constitutional. Brown overturned that decision."

"Sweatt vs Painter" ruling was successful in challenging the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation established by previous case "Plessy vs Fergusson". Sweatt ultimately won the case when the Supreme Court concluded that Thurgood Marshall School of Law failed to qualify for being a "separate but equal" educational institution, as it lacked the sufficient facilities to become one.

"Brown vs Board of Education" ruling effectively overturned the ruling of the "Plessy vs Fergusson case", when the Supreme Court indicated that state laws that permitted separate public schools were unconstitutional.