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13 Education Laws You Didn't Know Affected Blacks

We must know our history, especially as it pertains to education in this country.
  1. Roberts v. City of Boston

    (Photo: John L. Landers/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

    John L. Landers/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    (Photo: John L. Landers/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

    The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools are permissible under the state's constitution. (1849)

  2. Cumming v. Richmond (Ga.) County Board of Education

    (Photo: Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

    Buyenlarge/Getty Images

    (Photo: Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

    The Supreme Court allowed a state to levy taxes on Black and white citizens alike while providing a public school for white children only. (1899)

  3. Alston v. School Board of City of Norfolk

    (Photo: AP Photo/Charles Gorry)

    AP Photo/Charles Gorry

    (Photo: AP Photo/Charles Gorry)

    A federal court required equal salaries for African-American and white teachers. (1940)

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  5. Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma

    (Photo: University of Oklahoma via Instagram)

    University of Oklahoma via Instagram

    (Photo: University of Oklahoma via Instagram)

    The Supreme Court ordered the admission of a Black student to the University of Oklahoma School of Law, a white school, because there was no law school for Blacks. (1948)

  6. Wright v. Council of the City of Emporia; United States v. Scotland Neck City Board of Education

    (Photo: Perry Aycock/AP Photo)

    Perry Aycock/AP Photo

    (Photo: Perry Aycock/AP Photo)

    The Supreme Court refused to allow public school systems to avoid desegregation by creating new, mostly or all-white "splinter districts." (1972)

  7. San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez

    (Photo: Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images)

    Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images

    (Photo: Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images)

    The Supreme Court ruled that education is not a "fundamental right" and that the Constitution does not require equal education expenditures within a state. The ruling had the effect of locking minority and poor children who live in low-income areas into inferior schools. (1973)

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  9. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

    (Photo: AP Photo/Walter Zeboski)

    Photo: AP Photo/Walter Zeboski

    (Photo: AP Photo/Walter Zeboski)

    A fractured Supreme Court declared the affirmative action admissions program for the University of California Davis Medical School unconstitutional because it set aside a specific number of seats for Black and Latino students. The Court ruled that race can be a factor in university admissions, but it cannot be the deciding factor. (1978)

  10. United States v. Fordice

    (Photo: MPI/Getty Images)

    MPI/Getty Images

    (Photo: MPI/Getty Images)

    The Supreme Court ruled that the adoption of race-neutral measures does not, by itself, fulfill the Constitutional obligation to desegregate colleges and universities that were segregated by law. (1992)

  11. Missouri v. Jenkins

    (Photo: G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images)

    Photo: G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images

    (Photo: G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images)

    The Supreme Court set a new goal for desegregation plans: the return of schools to local control. It emphasized again that judicial remedies were intended to be "limited in time and extent." (1995)

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  13. Hopwood v. Texas

    (Photo: Mike Simons/Getty Images)

    Photo: Mike Simons/Getty Images

    (Photo: Mike Simons/Getty Images)

    A federal appeals court prohibited the use of race in college and university admissions, ending affirmative action in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. (1996)

  14. Harvard's Civil Rights Project

    (Photo: Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

    Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    (Photo: Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

    A study by Harvard's Civil Rights Project found that schools were more segregated in 2000 than in 1970, when busing for desegregation began. A report from the Civil Rights Project also concluded that America's schools are re-segregating. (2002)

  15. Grutter v. Bollinger; Gratz v. Bollinger; Lynn v. Comfort

    (Photo: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

    Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    (Photo: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

    The Supreme Court upheld diversity as a rationale for affirmative action programs in higher education admissions, but concluded that point systems are not appropriate. A federal district court case affirmed the value of racial diversity and race-conscious student assignment plans in K-12 education. (2003)

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  17. Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1

    (Photo: Suzi Pratt/Getty Images)

    Suzi Pratt/Getty Images

    (Photo: Suzi Pratt/Getty Images)

    In "Parents Involved," the Supreme Court found voluntary school integration plans unconstitutional, paving the way for contemporary school segregation to escalate. (2007)

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