Berea College v. Kentucky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Berea College v. Kentucky |
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| Argued April 10, 13, 1908 Decided November 9, 1908 |
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| Full case name | Berea College, Plaintiff in Error, v. Commonwealth of Kentucky |
| Citations | 211 U.S. 45 (more)
29 S. Ct. 33; 53 L. Ed. 81
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| Prior history | Affirmed, 123 Ky. 209, 94 S.W. 623. Reviewed by the Supreme Court on writ of error. |
| Holding | |
| States can legally prohibit private educational institutions chartered as corporations from admitting both black and white students. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Brewer, joined by Fuller, White, Peckham, McKenna |
| Concurrence | Holmes (in the judgment of the court only) |
| Concurrence | Moody (in the judgment of the court only) |
| Dissent | Harlan |
| Dissent | Day |
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Overruled by
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| Brown v. Board of Education (1954) | |
Berea College v. Kentucky was an important court case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1908. The Court said that states could stop private schools, especially those set up as companies, from having both black and white students. This case was similar to the famous Plessy v. Ferguson case. In both cases, Justice John Marshall Harlan strongly disagreed with the Court's decision. This ruling also helped define what rights companies have.
A School's Fight for Fairness
Berea College is a private college in Berea, Kentucky. It was started in 1855 as a school for both boys and girls. It welcomed students of all races and treated everyone equally.
In 1904, the state of Kentucky passed a law called the "Day Law". This law made it illegal for schools to teach black and white students together. It also said that separate schools for different races had to be at least 25 miles apart. At the time, Berea College was the only integrated school in Kentucky. It was also the only college in the Southern United States that taught students of all races together. This meant Berea College was the main target of this new law.
Berea College tried to fight the law in court. They lost their case in Kentucky's highest court, though the part about the 25-mile distance was removed. So, Berea College took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court's Decision
The Supreme Court decided that Kentucky was right. Justice Brewer wrote the main decision for the Court. He explained that since Berea College was set up as a company under Kentucky's laws, the state had the right to tell the college what to do.
Justice Brewer said that the state might not have the right to stop individual people from teaching different races together. But he said that the rules for companies could be different from the rules for individuals. The Court focused only on the college as a company.
Justice Harlan strongly disagreed with the Court's decision. He argued that the law's name, "An Act to Prohibit White and Colored Persons from Attending the Same School," showed that it was meant to stop both individuals and companies from teaching mixed-race students. He believed that the Court should not have separated these parts of the law.
Justice Harlan also said that the ability to teach others is a gift that should not be stopped by the government. He felt that teaching, if it's not harmful, is a basic right. Justice Day also disagreed with the Court but did not write his own opinion.
What Happened Next
The Supreme Court's decision meant that states could stop both private and public schools from teaching black and white students together. This ruling allowed racial segregation to continue in schools.
Kentucky later changed the Day Law in 1950. This change allowed schools to choose to integrate their students. Just a few years later, in 1954, the Supreme Court made a new decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case. This new ruling said that racial segregation in public schools was against the law. This decision effectively overturned the ideas supported by Berea College v. Kentucky.
