Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka — page 3 — CIVIL RIGHTS VOICES Barbara Johns It was time that Negroes were treated equally with whites time that they had a decent school time for the students themselves to do something about it There wasn’t any fear I just thought this is your moment Seize it Barbara Johns was only 16 years old when she led the school walkout to protest unequal education for African Americans There were consequences for her efforts Her house was burned and a cross was lit on fire on the school grounds When her life was threatened her parents sent her to live in Alabama She later graduated from college and became a librarian 6 Fixing Problems The parent-teacher association of Moton High School the most powerful local African-American organization met with the school board many times They asked for school improvements but nothing changed Finally in 1951 Barbara and other student leaders including John A Stokes took matters into their own hands They tricked the principal into leaving the building They knew he would try to stop their protest Barbara faked

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka — page 4 — B a r b a r a s s i s t e r t h a n k s V i r g i n i a s g o v e r n o r a f t e r a portrait of Barbara was unveiled at the Virginia State Capitol in 2010 a memo from the principal asking that the teachers bring all of their classes to an assembly All 450 students gathered in the auditorium Barbara took the stage and asked the teachers to leave the auditorium She made a speech calling for the students to join her in a strike or a walkout The 7

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka — page 5 — students would stay out of school until a new high school was promised The principal rushed in and tried to talk the students out of the strike But the students would not listen They wanted change The students carried picket signs which had been made to deliver their message to the public One of the signs demanded a new school Those who remained in class that day and for the days to follow refused to open their books or to participate in the lessons The students asked the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP for help While they waited for a reply the students spoke with the local school district leaders who explained they could not attend the white school because of Virginia law which required separate schools Jim Crow Laws Segregation of schools was in many states established through a set of laws called Jim Crow laws These laws were intended to keep African 8

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka — page 6 — The NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP was founded in 1909 It started in response to the violence and injustice aimed at African Americans during this time Its founding group included both whites and African-American members It is the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States The NAACP spends its time and money advocating for improved civil rights equal opportunity and voter recruitment 9 Americans and whites separated in public areas They could not use the same facilities At that time in history African Americans were called Negroes a term taken from the Spanish word for the color black African Americans were also referred to as colored people Today many people consider these terms offensive On April 25 the Moton High School students met with lawyers from the NAACP The NAACP had two conditions for getting involved first the students had to get support from their parents and second they had to agree to fight for

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