After watching this movie, what stuck out to me the most was the long journey and efforts it took to actually get to the Brown vs. Board case. The strategy of the NAACP was to build individual cases in order to get to the Supreme Court. The issue of segregated schools was something that needed to be brought to attention as society did not see it as an issue to be changed, they just saw it as "the way things were." This mindset brings to mind a quote shared by my favorite high school teacher from Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, "The most dangerous phrase in the language is 'we've always done it this way.'" The resistance to change and even seeing that there was a change that needed to be made was evident in the struggle to bring the importance of ending school segregation to light. In order to make the issue mean something, the small cases built by the NAACP focused on the constitution and the 14th amendment to knock down the idea of separate but equal because "separate will never be equal." This quote made it evident to me why the people at the time saw no need for change. They had a warped view that separate was equal. This argument by the NAACP and their work towards the eventual Brown vs. Board case encouraged others to recognize that any act of separation was unjust.
The speech given by the high school teacher was a powerful one. She made it clear to her students that racism still exists and while talking about the ways in which blacks were separated made the powerful comment that, "a history unknown is a history repeated." This quote given by the teacher and also in bold on the back of the DVD box is one of the movie's central messages. I will admit that through watching this movie, I gained a greater awareness of the fight toward integrated schooling. When studying in classes, you review cases like Brown vs. Board and think of it as a one time deal, when in reality, it was something that resulted from small cases and grew into something that could not be ignored. Aside from just Brown vs. Board, the history of segregation as a whole is something that sadly to many is a history unknown. The power of history is that it informs us and pushes us toward a different future. Without the knowledge of history, individuals are doomed to make the same mistakes and have the same prejudices as that of their ancestors. Therefore, we need history. We need the harsh truths and cannot become ignorant to the oppression that African-Americans faced. Without it, we are subject to the vicious cycle that continues to wreak havoc on our world.
The NAACP continued to be the voice of defeating school segregation in the 40s and 50s. For African-American Southerners, the NAACP consisted of local leaders in local cases who provided lawyers and support. The support was greatly needed as there were opinions at the time that did not see the need for ending school segregation. John Davis's argument was one of them as he believed that ending school segregation was not worth it and that it would not be beneficial for everyone to be together. He undermined the issue all together, which goes back to the fact that many simply did not view school segregation as a problem. Davis saw it as a way to protect students from potential problems. Thurgood Marshall responded to John Davis's opinion by explaining why the issue of eliminating school segregation IS worth it- because it is racism. He went to the root of segregation, saying that there must be some reason why blacks are the ones who are separated in this way. He stated that the only thing he could think of is that it was the mindset that "the people formally in slavery should be kept that way." He said that this is not what the constitution was about. Preach it Marshall! To address Davis's comment that it would not be beneficial for blacks and whites to be together, Marshall said that if they could play in the street together and be together in other ways, why could they not go to school together? How would that not be beneficial? In my opinion, Thurgood Marshall's response would leave John Davis without much to say back.
When the Brown vs. Board case finally arrived and declared segregation as unconstitutional, there was one phrase that had good intentions but resulted in many setbacks. "With all deliberate speed." The case ruled that segregation by the states would be "ended with all deliberate speed." This wording was chosen to help deflect some of the violence that would break out after the court ruling but instead was said to be interpreted as "take your time." The ambiguous wording caused delay for states to end segregation and resulted in opposition of the court order. The aftermath of Brown vs. Board was something I can sadly say I was not truly aware of until now. Like I said, when you learn about Brown vs. Board, you learn about it as a victory and you assume that once it was passed, all was well. All was certainly not well. Looking at the horrific aftermath in South Carolina and Virginia, the resistance and refusal to abide by the court orders was deeply saddening. The letter to the Reverend from the whites to get out of town or be forced to get out of town left me unsettled. The irony of the spelling and grammar errors throughout the letter was uncanny. Whites were the ones who were supposed to be educated, and here they were sounding like the exact label they would give to blacks.
This movie left me with some guilt for not fully knowing the history of Brown vs. Board. It wasn't just a case that came and went and made a difference, it was a long and painful road toward achieving a change that was not even immediately put in place. We view the case today as a historical milestone, but at the time, like the movie stated, it wasn't just about making history, it was about the students. No one realized how the case would go down as a valuable aspect of history, African-Americans were just trying to make a difference in the lives of students at the time who endured the segregation. The video also made it evident that through all the resistance and oppression, blacks kept going. A quote at the end of the movie by a young African-American stated, "Die with your staff in hand going forward." This was truly the attitude of African-Americans, that they would not go down without a fight and would not take no for an answer. This attitude is the reason why today we go to integrated schools and do not think twice about it. This video challenged me to know the full story, and not to turn my face away from the harsh realities that took place but to face them head on, using knowledge of the past to turn "we've always done it this way" into "how can we make a better way."
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