Revisiting the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) SCOTUS Decision 70 Years Later

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is a landmark Supreme Court case in the United States that addressed racial segregation in public schools. SCOTUS led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The Court held that "separate but equal" facilities, a doctrine established by the earlier Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896, were inherently unequal and thus violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This decision was a crucial moment in the American civil rights movement, but NOT a “shining moment” in American history.  Let me 'splain WHY.

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“Importantly, the Brown v. Board decision did not extend its scope beyond public schools. The ruling specifically addressed educational institutions and did not mandate integration across other public facilities or societal sectors.” (Quote Source)

This is true. The historic Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) did not extend BEYOND the scope of public schools.  How convenient!

This is NOT a “shining moment” in American history; particularly, with respect to historic decisions made by the Supreme Court. But it does shine a light on the lengths people who hold a position of authority will go to make sure “certain people” stay on TOP while “certain others” are kept down, have doors closed in their faces, etc. It's a "convenient “tool” to ensure that oppression, unfair discrimination, and inequality are BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM. 

The history of legal decisions made in America, from the Supreme Court, all the way down to the lesser courts is PROOF of this country's HYPOCRISY.

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Whereas the pledge of allegiance and the constitution use words to PROMOTE and PROMISE ideals like justice, liberty, and equality … the legal decisions show that WE THE PEOPLE DON'T PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH!!

Although … to be fair ... not all Americans are hypocrites. Some of US really do believe those words in the pledge and the constitution.

But it is a very "inconvenient truth" when the ones who are hypocrites are in positions of authority and power. The Brown v Board decision is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. An extremely accurate historical record for US ALL.

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NOTE: The remarks above were my comments left at an article published via Medium.com titled: “implications of the Brown v. Board of Education decision”. I am repeating them here because they bear repeating. (Original Source)

Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation https://t.co/EY1bjkc2qB #history #markers and #reminders #BooksWorthReading #Project2025 wants to do away with the Dept of Education. WHY? Is it so bad that it NEEDS to be SCRAPPED? pic.twitter.com/sIwPwToVeW

— Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) ~ #Freelancer (@cmoneyspinner) August 3, 2024

Isn't it SILLY that a country as diverse as America, even has to discuss DEI?
Even SILLIER? That a country as diverse as America even had to pass a Civil Rights Act.
The SILLLIEST? When people ACT LIKE there's no problem when the PROBLEM IS SO OBVIOUS.

— Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) ~ #Freelancer (@cmoneyspinner) August 3, 2024

NOTE: I wonder if Musk had a problem with apartheid being forced on kids without parental consent. Of course, he'll undoubtedly use the excuse that when it happened, he was just a kid himself.

And God Said to the Woman "Thou Shalt Not Be Equal" : Did God Really Say That?

I have been a HubPages Contributor for almost 10 years. When I arrived at HP, Scott Belford aka myesoteric was already there publishing extremely interesting articles that generated a lot of discussion from members and external visitors. The title of this particular HUB (link below) caught my eye and I was drawn into the discussion. Below are some of the comments I left behind. 

When I first joined HubPages my user name was "mib56789". That account was deleted and a new account was created under a different user name, "cmoneyspinner1tf". These comments, under my old user name, are 8 years old. I thought when my account was deleted, all related activity vanished. So I was very surprised to see that my comments were still there. Sharing a link to this HUB as you may want to contribute your thoughts. HUBPages is a platform that accepts comments from both internal and external visitors.

And God Said Unto Woman ... You Shall Not Ever Be Equal to Man | Scott Belford, HubPages Contributor

MY COMMENTS:

FIRST: Your HUB title is not contentious. As a HUB writer I know that most often if the title doesn’t grab the reader’s attention they probably won’t read the HUB.

SECOND: By “the Bible”, I assume you mean Old and New Testament scriptures. When something is based on something that means the “basis” is the foundation. Islam is not based on the Bible. Islam is based on the Koran. The Jewish faith is based on the Old Testament (one part of the Bible) and Christianity is based on THE BIBLE (Old and New Testaments).

THIRD: Inequality is not scriptural, i.e. non-biblical, not based on the Bible. Male/female. Black/White. Jew/Gentile. Slave/Free. God has no respect of persons. Everybody gets treated equally. The laws of God were never set up to institutionalize and systematize inequality. Just because humans have chosen to arrange institutions and systems and misapply scriptures to accommodate these inequalities doesn’t mean it was God’s idea.

RE: The fall of humanity wasn’t blamed on Eve. (It’s in the Bible.)

RE: Monotheism has evolving backwards?

God never withheld Himself, His love or His wisdom; because at one time WE (mankind) ALL KNEW THE ONE TRUE GOD. We turned away from God. If you want to call that “evolving backward”? OK.

Yet and still, He’s the same God TODAY that spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God didn’t screw up the world we live in. We did it to ourselves. God has provided a way for us to redeem ourselves. We can accept the offer of salvation or reject it.

There’s scripture for everything I say. I’m not making any of this stuff up. It all comes from God’s word: THE BIBLE. The same Book that you say God made the woman unequal.

Promoting Women’s Rights Worldwide: Efforts of the United Nations

"So tell me, as an outsider, what do you think of the human race?" -- Anonymous

Have you ever thought that if the outsider saw the way that women are treated worldwide, instead of being complimentary, they would be appalled? I have.

Here is a quote I stumbled upon several years that surprised. The quote did not surprise me. It's the person who is credited with having made the statement.

"Enable every woman who can work to take her place on the labour front, under the principle of equal pay for equal work." -- Mao Tse-Tung.

Sorry but I was born and raised in America. I was never taught that Mao Tse-Tung championed the rights of women.

The official website for the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE), aka "WomenWatch", serves as an Internet Gateway to resources and information regarding gender equality and empowerment of women.

The Most Important Thing
“We all agree that human rights issues, not just the rights of women and children, are matters that are a global and universal concern. But women and children are particularly vulnerable, as they are most often the disadvantaged and the downtrodden. Let us keep their plight in the forefront of our hearts and minds. If presented with an opportunity and we have the power or the ability to do good, to show kindness and mercy, to make a change for the better, in this respect, then embrace it.”

(RE: The Most Important Thing. That's me quoting myself.)

 

United Nations Development Group

The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) has a membership of 32 funds, programs, agencies, and offices, plus five observers that play a role in internationally agreed-upon development goals. One of the members of the UNDG is the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI). In the UN's organizational structure, the UNDPI is under the Secretariat. The Secretariat carries out a range of duties including surveying economic and social trends and organizing international conferences on issues of worldwide concern. The UNDPI's organizational unit has 3 divisions:

- Strategic Communications Division;

- News and Media Division; and

- Outreach Division.

The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, was held in Beijing, China in 1995. Twelve (12) critical areas of concern were identified and presented under the umbrella "The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action". The Declaration is aimed at achieving greater equality and opportunity for women, i.e. female equality and empowerment, worldwide. The three previous World Conferences were held in Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980) and Nairobi (1985).

The official website for the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE), aka "WomenWatch", serves as an Internet Gateway to resources and information regarding gender equality and empowerment of Women.

In March 2010, at its fifty-fourth session, the Commission on the Status of Women reviewed the implementation of the Declaration. In an effort to accomplish certain strategic goals for "Women and the Media" (outlined in Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action), interested parties not able to attend the Commission on the Status of Women were invited to participate in online discussions.

However, "Women and the Media" is not the only discussion. The following is a listing of several discussions which were moderated by numerous UN organizations. These discussions have been taking place since November 2009.

- Violence against women | United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

- Women and the Economy | World Bank (WB)

- Institutional mechanisms | Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

- Women and Health | World Health Organization (WHO)

- Girl Child | United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

- Armed conflict | United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)

- Gender Equality, Education and Training | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

- Women and Poverty | United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

- Women in Power and Decision-Making | United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

- Women and the Environment | United Nations Environment Programme, with United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNEP with UN-HABITAT)

- Women and Human Rights | Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

- Women and the Media | United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI)

I am repeating the quote because it bears repeating.

"Enable every woman who can work to take her place on the labour front, under the principle of equal pay for equal work."

These are the words of Mao Tse-Tung but surely his thought is not an original thought. No doubt there were many who came before him and many who trailed behind him who all understood and saw the need for the application of this simple, fair and equitable principle. But as you can see by the listing of organizations above, equal pay for equal work is only one wrong towards women that is happening around the world. There are several women's rights issues and … what is the conclusion? IT'S A SHAME AND A DISGRACE!