On June 7, 1892, a 30-year-old colored shoemaker named Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the "White" car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy was only one-eighths black and seven-eighths white, but under Louisiana law, he was considered black and therefore required to sit in the "Colored" car. Plessy went to court and argued, in Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana, that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The judge at the trial was John Howard Ferguson, a lawyer from Massachusetts who had previously declared the Separate Car Act "unconstitutional on trains that traveled through several states" . In Plessy's case, however, he decided that the state could choose to regulate railroad companies that operated only within Louisiana. He found Plessy guilty of refusing to leave the white car. Plessy appealed to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, which upheld Ferguson's decision. In 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States heard Plessy's case and found him guilty once again.

The Plessy decision set the precedent that "separate" facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were "equal." The "separate but equal" doctrine was quickly extended to cover many areas of public life, such as restaurants, theaters, restrooms, and public schools. Not until 1954, in the equally important Brown v. Board of Education decision, would the "separate but equal" doctrine be struck down.

Sweatt v. Painter
One of the early segregation cases was Sweatt v. Painter. Herman Sweatt was a black who wanted to attend the University of Texas Law School. The law school denied him admission solely because of his race. Texas had set up another law school for blacks, but Sweatt argued that the black school was not equal to the white school. Indeed, it wasn't; it was not as large and, because it was newer, it did not have as good a reputation. Sweatt took his case to the Supreme Court. In 1950, the Court ruled in favor of Sweatt and forced the University of Texas Law School to admit him.

Speaking for a unanimous Court in Sweatt v. Painter, Chief Justice Vinson wrote:

"With such a substantial and significant segment of society excluded, we cannot conclude that the education offered [Mr. Sweatt] is substantially equal to that which he would receive if admitted to the University of Texas Law school."

McLaurin v.
Oklahoma State Regents
for Higher Education
A slightly different segregation case was McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Oklahoma State University admitted G.W. McLaurin, a black citizen of the state, because the black state colleges did not have comparable programs. The university, however, forced McLaurin to sit in isolated seats in the classrooms, library, and cafeteria. In 1950, McLaurin argued that this policy was unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court agreed in a unanimous decision.

Brown vs. Board of Education

In the Midwest town of Topeka, Kansas, a little girl named Linda Brown had to ride the bus five miles to school each day although a public school was located only four blocks from her house. The school wasn't full and the little girl met all of the requirements to attend — all but one that is. Linda Brown was black. And blacks weren't allowed to go to white children's schools.

It was not until 1954 that the doctrine of "separate but equal" was challenged. In attempt to gain equal education opportunities for their children that were not provided for under the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, African-American community leaders took action against the segregation in America's schools. Aided by the local chapter of the NAACP, a group of thirteen parents filed a class action suit against the Board of Education of Topeka Schools.

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that the "separate but equal" clause was unconstitutional because it violated the children's 14 amendment rights by separating them solely on the classification of the color of their skin. Chief Justice Warren delivered the court's opinion, stating that "segregated schools are not equal and cannot be made equal, and hence they are deprived of the equal protection of the laws." This ruling in favor of integration was one of the most significant strides America has taken in favor of civil liberties.

The change against segregated schools did not come without a fight. Southern activists and politicians resisted the move and did much to stop integration from invading their states. 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was forced to send National Guard troops to Little Rock High School to protect the first entering black students. The battle was long and hard, but progress finally came. To this day efforts continue across the country to realize the dream of the NAACP and the families in the original Brown case. The monument decision of the Supreme Court at 12:52 p.m. on May 17, 1954, altered the economic, political and social structure of this nation. Brown v. Board of Education helped change America forever.

UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
In 1943, Dr. Frederick D. Patterson, president of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), wrote an open letter in the Pittsburgh Courier to the presidents of our nation's private black colleges urging them to "pool their small monies and make a united appeal to the national conscience." His words would soon become the guiding principle for one of the world's leading education assistance organizations. One year later, the United Negro College Fund was incorporated on April 25, 1944 with 27 member colleges and combined enrollment of 14,000 students.

Since that time, UNCF has grown to become the nation's oldest and most successful African American higher education assistance organization. It is a consortium of 39 private, accredited four-year historically black colleges and universities. Though UNCF has broadened its focus by offering more programs designed to enhance the quality of education for America's brightest young minds, its commitment to providing financial assistance to deserving students, raising operating funds for member colleges and universities, and supplying technical assistance to member institutions remains unchanged.

More than 300,000 educated men and women have worked to strengthen their communities thanks to the support they received from the United Negro College Fund. Each day graduates of the UNCF college experience are working to build a stronger nation as community leaders, educators, health professionals, and in numerous other vocations. UNCF is proud to make a difference in the lives of thousands of students each year, so they may in turn make a difference in the lives of millions of others for a lifetime.

The United Negro College Fund, with 27 member colleges and universities is founded following a year of planning and development, its stated purpose "to aid the cause of higher education for members of the Negro people in the United States." Dr. Patterson is the founder and William Trent becomes UNCF's first executive director.

UNCF's first campaign receives the support of many prominent Americans including FDR and John D. Rockefeller. UNCF raises $765,000, three times what the institutions had raised separately the previous year.

Black and white college students meet at Shaw University in Raleigh, N. C. to establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), to work against segregation and discrimination. UNCF has to face questions form donors and potential donors who do not approve of students participating in protests and sit-ins.

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

ORGANIZATIONS

The National Alliance of
Black School Educators
NABSE, a 5,000 plus member, nonprofit organization founded in 1970 by Dr. Charles D. Moody, Sr. and other prominent educators, is the nation's largest network of African American educators. NABSE is dedicated to improving the educational accomplishments of African American youth through the development and deployment of instructional and motivational methods that increase levels of inspiration, attendance and overall achievement.

To that end, NABSE seeks to:

• Promote and facilitate the education of all students, especially those of African descent;
• Establish a coalition of African American educators and others directly and indirectly involved in the educational process;
• Create a forum for the exchange of ideas and strategies to improve opportunities for people of African descent;
• Identify and develop African American professionals who will assume leadership positions in education; and Influence public policy concerning the education of African Americans.

NABSE's compelling mission and purposes are achieved through three primary areas of focus: Professional Development Programs that strengthen the skills of teachers, principals, specialists, superintendents and school board members; Information Sharing around innovative instructional and learning strategies that have proven successful in motivating African American youth and increasing academic performance in critical learning areas; and Policy Advocacy to ensure high standards and quality in our public and private education systems.