The Status of Florida's Black School Principals

Abstract

In 1896, the case of Plessy v. Ferguson was before the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring but equal for Whites and Blacks on railroads was permissible. This court ruling was prescribed for transportation, but the doctrine of separate but equal facilities was gradually applied to other forms of public services, involving public schools.' The Supreme Court, 1954, reversed its decision of 1896 with the decree rendered Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. It ruled that in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place because separate education facilities are inherently unequal.2 The Court decided that racially segregated public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment which guarantees equal protection of the laws to all citizens. In 1964, Congress passed the most comprehensive civil rights law United States history. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was aimed at ending discrimination against Blacks and individuals of other minority groups. This legislation, however, provided measures designed to insure the rights of all Americans. The specific areas of voting, working public accommodations, and public education were the most critical.3 In spite of the numerous federal court decisions the past seventeen years which were consistent with the 1954 Brown decision and the acts of the United States Congress, the attempt to desegregate public schools met with considerable resistance. Many communities defied the law, but the resistance, most instances, was unsuccessful. Public schools separated by race on the pupil, teacher, and administrative levels began to disappear. At first, the