It was NOT LONG AGO when African-Americans were considered "less than human". The scope of the 14th amendment of the U. S. Constitution prohibits actions denying African-Americans the right to vote and EQUAL PROTECTION under the law. The major holding of the 14th amendment was the reversal of Dred Scott v Sandford (1857) U. S. Supreme Court case, which states that African-American slaves were not intended to be classified in the wordings "all men are created equal" under the Declaration of Independence. Finally, it gave citizenship to anyone born in the United States, which included African descendants. One of the major actions of the 14th amendment is its involvement in the case of Brown v Board of Education (1954) where it was used to fight against legal segregation of schools systems against African-Americans. It also brought to light, Roberts v. City of Boston (1849), where African-Americans had filed law suits against a racially segregated education system. Additionally, the 14th amendment also granted relief in five cases under Brown v Board of Education as follows: Bulah v. Gebhart in Delaware; Briggs v. Elliot in S. Carolina; Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County in Virginia; Bolling v. C. Melvin Sharpe in Washington, D.C. and Brown v Board of Education itself in Kansas, where similar issues were address, and relief granted the individuals fighting against an oppressive system. It is intriguing to note that even after the 14th amendment passage, adoption, and implementation, there still exists places where many rights were still being violated regarding Africa-Americans and other minorities primarily in the Southern states. Even today, it seems that equal protection and due process of law when it comes to African-Americans and other minority Americans are in jeopardy of receiving the blind eye.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 14:32:19 +0000