Page 5 of the Gray Commission Report outlines the historical legal foundation for school segregation before the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education. It explains that segregation was previously upheld under state police powers, citing Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Gong Lum v. Rice (1927) as precedents that validated racial separation in public schools. The report argues that at the time of the Fourteenth Amendment’s adoption, lawmakers did not anticipate it applying to school segregation, reinforcing the perspective that the Brown ruling marked a major legal shift.
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decision of the Supreme Court; school segregation cases; Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1890); Gong Lum v. Rice, 275 U.S. 78 (1927); constitutionality; constitutional power of the State legislature; Fourteenth Amendment
