In the early 1950's, racial segregation in public schools was a custom across America. Although all the schools in a given district were supposed to be equal, most black schools were far inferior to their white counterparts. In Topeka, Kansas, a black third-grader named Linda Brown had to walk one mile through a railroad switchyard to get to her black elementary school, even though a white elementary school was only seven blocks away. Linda's father, Oliver Brown, tried to enroll her in the white elementary school, but the principal of the school refused. The NAACP was eager to assist the Browns, as it had long wanted to challenge segregation in public s

In 1963 a poor Mexican immigrant by the name of Ernesto Miranda was arrested for kidnapping and raping a young woman. Prior criminal charges that had been brought against Miranda included armed robbery of a bank worker, attempted rape, assault, and burglary. Following his arrest for raping the young woman, Miranda confessed to the crime after being interrogated by police for two hours. The case went to court, Miranda vs. Arizona (1966), and Miranda was found guilty. Although he was found guilty because of his confession, Miranda appealed his case on the fact that he did not know his Fifth Amendment rights. Miranda appealed the case on the basis that he made his confession without knowing his Fifth Amendment rights which stated he had a right to a lawyer and to not incriminate himself.

The Supreme Court had to make its decision based not on whether or not the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment had desegregated schools in mind when they wrote the amendment in 1868, but based on whether or not desegregated schools deprived black children of equal protection of the law when the case was decided, in 1954.The Court struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy for public education, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and required the desegregation of schools across America. The Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision did not abolish segregation in other public areas, such as restaurants and

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