Blog #15

Newspaper reflection

I contributed an article about the transatlantic telegraph cable and how it was destroyed by the chief electrician. I also included a picture of where the cable lines traveled. I wish I was able to contribute more time to the entire project, but I had a family emergency come up; so I was not able to be at school the entire week. Next time, I will try and tell my group that I will not be there if something comes up.

PICTURES

Segregation, Then and Now

The supreme court case of Brown Vs. Board of Education helped ignite integration in public schools; but it was not able to erase segregation completely.
Brown Vs. B.OE supreme court case was about two black girls named Linda and terry Lynn Brown who had to walk through a railroad switch yard to get to there all-black school(More info here). The Browns believed that the segregated school violated the 14th amendment. Just 48 years before, the case of Plessy Vs. Ferguson, concluded that,

"The object of the [Fourteenth] Amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political, equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either."—Justice Henry Billings Brown, speaking for the majority

After much debate on the Brown Vs. B.O.E case, the supreme court took back what they said about the Plessy Vs. Ferguson case and concluded, "We conclude that the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Segregation then

In the early 1900s, segregation was everywhere. Every part of life had one for whites and another for blacks. Some things included in segregation included; drinking fountains, buses, schools, shops, and even where people were allowed to live. Many southerners thought we would always have segregation, but because of two young girls, everything changed.

Segregation Now

Even though we don't have special drinking fountains for each race, there is still segregation in our classrooms. Instead of just having to do with the color of your skin, it also relies on how rich you are. People who are rich usually go to private schools and so they fellowship with people that are also wealthy. The same thing goes with people who are poor. The video below shows graphs and examples of segregation in today's schools

• NA. "Brown vs. Board of Education." Landmark Cases. Supreme court historical society. 2 Oct. 2008 .

• "The 14th Amendment of the United States." Wikipedia. Wikipedia. 2 Oct. 2008 .

• NA. "Plessy Vs. Ferguson." Landmark Cases. Supreme Court Historical Society. 2 Oct. 2008 .