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From Plessy v. Ferguson to Cooper v. Aaron by Kristina Gillard

In this timeline I will explore the 1896 Supreme Court decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, which led to decades of Jim Crow segregation laws. I will then discuss how Brown v. Board of Education began to overturn those laws in 1954 by deciding that segregation within public schools was unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education then led to the Little Rock Nine integrating Central High School in 1957, which subsequently led to the first African American graduate of an integrated school in May of 1958. The integration of the Little Rock Nine was then followed by the final opinion for Cooper v. Aaron in September of 1958.

Plessy v. Ferguson

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In 1892 an African American man named Homer Plessy challenged Louisiana’s Separate Car Act, requiring railroads to have separate but equal accommodations for African American and White travelers, by purchasing a ticket and refusing to give up his seat in a “white only” area (Plessy was 7/8th white). He was subsequently charged with violating the Act and in 1896 argued that his 13^th and 14^th Amendment rights were violated before the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson. Unfortunately, Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the Separate Car Act and only served to reinforce Jim Crow laws leading to decades of segregated public spaces, bathrooms, buses and schools. Although several state cases desegregating schools of higher learning would be won along the way; Jim Crow laws would not be fully challenged again until 1954 when the Supreme Court would hear Brown v. Board of Education.

Brown v. Board of Education

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In 1954 the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal” segregation laws and desegregated the public school system. Brown v. Board of Education was actually five individual cases that the Supreme Court chose to hear as one. The Justices began hearing the arguments, led by Thurgood Marshal of the NAACP, in 1952. Unfortunately, the Justices were unable to come to an agreement before the end of the 1952-53 term and decided to re-hear the case in 1953. In 1953 the case was re-tried and won. Although the Justices had determined that segregation within public schools was unconstitutional it would be 1955 before they finally released a desegregation plan for the states to follow. Despite the plan the first integrated school would not occur until September 1957, when the Little Rock Nine entered Central High for the first time.

The Little Rock Nine

As a direct result of Brown v. Board of Education, the Little Rock Nine attempt to integrate Central High School as the first African American students in an all-white school in early September of 1957. Predictably they were met with mobs, protests and violence which prevented them from being able to enter or remain in the school. Governor Orval Faubus uses the Arkansas National Guard to “maintain the peace” by preventing the Little Rock Nine from being able to enter the school due to “credible threats” he would say he received. On September 25^th, 1957 President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the National Guard and the Army’s 101^st Airborne to guard the students allowing them to begin attending classes. Throughout the year there would continue to be assaults on African American students by their white peers. These assaults would increase as the President removed the 101^st Airborne from the state. In February of 1958 Minnijean Brown, one of the nine, would be expelled for defending herself against constant internal assaults, leaving only eight of the original nine students.

Ernest Green

On May 25^th, 1958 Ernest Green, one of the eight remaining of the Little Rock Nine, becomes the first African American to graduate from Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended his graduation and the NAACP went on to award him the Spingarn Medal. In 1965 Ernest Green would start his work in employment law through the Adolph Institute and subsequently the A. Phillip Randolph Education Fund where he would assist southern women of color with professional and educational opportunities. He went on to become Assistant Secretary of the Labor Department in the Carter Administration and he continues to fight for civil rights to this day.

Cooper v. Aaron

On September 29^th, 1958 the Supreme Court issued a final unanimous opinion against the School Board’s request to postpone integration based on the events of the preceding year; upholding the ruling issued by the Eighth Circuit Court on August 18^th, 1958. In response, Governor Faubus issued an executive order closing schools for the 1958-1959 school year. Despite a citywide election in that same year showing continued support against integration, public opinion soon began to turn when faced with economic backlash to local businesses. In the 1959-1960 school year schools were subsequently reopened, with Central and Hall High Schools finally allowing some African Americans to enroll and attend.

Duignan, B. (2020, March 9). Plessy v. Ferguson. Retrieved April 3, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Plessy-v-Ferguson-1896

History - Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2020, from https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment

The Little Rock Nine. (2018, September 6). Retrieved April 3, 2020, from https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/little-rock-nine

Crisis Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2020, from https://www.nps.gov/chsc/learn/historyculture/timeline.htm

Ernest Greens Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2020, from https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/ernest-green-39

Little Rock School Desegregation. (2018, May 22). Retrieved April 3, 2020, from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/little-rock-school-desegregation

Aaron v. Cooper. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2020, from https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/aaron-v-cooper-741/