How does the Supreme Courts history-making decision this week compare with important decisions in the past?
As you review the week’s events and the Supreme Court’s ruling, provide students with this week’s TIME Capsule for historical context and a point of comparison. It was 12:52 p.m., May 17, 1954. At the long mahogany bench sat the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme court. From the red velour hangings behind the bench to the great doors at the back of the room, every seat was filled. Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the U.S., picked up a printed document from his desk and began to read in a firm clear voice. When Warren finished reading at 1:20 the ruling was crystal clear; the U.S. Supreme court held that racial segregation in the public schools violates the Constitution. The decision was unanimous. In its 164 years the court had erected many a landmark of U.S. history. None of them, except the Dred Scott Case (reversed by the Civil War) was more important than the school segregation issue. None of them directly and intimately affected so many American families. The lives and values of some
