Read the passage from the opinion of the court in Brown V.
Board of Education, written by Justice Warren.
What reason does Warren give for making the claim that
comparing "tangible factors" is not enough to evaluate
segregation?
In the instant cases, that question is directly presented. ...
There are findings below that the Negro and white schools
involved have been equalized, or are being equalized, with
respect to buildings, curricula, qualifications and salaries
of teachers, and other "tangible" factors. Our decision,
therefore, cannot turn on merely a comparison of these
tangible factors in the Negro and white schools involved in
each of the cases. We must look instead to the effect of
segregation itself on public education. ...
Educational and physical facilities themselves are not
actually equal.
The state has promised to provide equal educational
opportunities.
Age and qualifications in public schools are a more
reliable factor to examine.
The real impact of racial segregation is emotional
damage to minority students.
Today, education is perhaps the most important function of
state and local governments. Compulsory school
attendance laws and the great expenditures for education
both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of
education to our democratic society. It is required in the
performance of our most basic public responsibilities,