School Crisis 1961

The resource juxtaposes the laws related to segregation from both the Georgia Constitution and the United States Constitution. By contrasting the two, the source reveals the inconsistencies between the two constitutions in the area of school segregation. From the ruling of Brown v. Board, the United States Constitution states that “in the field of public higher education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place…” The resource also quotes the 14th amendment which states, “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;…nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The article then reveals a major discrepancy between the two constitutions as the Georgia Constitution in Article 8, Section 1, Paragraph 1 states, “the provision of an adequate education for the citizens shall be a primary obligation of the State of Georgia;... Separate schools shall be provided for the white and colored races.” The article makes it plain, the two constitutions have differing stances on the topic of education. The article then concludes the effect of the differing constitutions by bringing a historic report to light, the Sibley Report of 1960. Governor John Sibley was chosen to be the forefront for the report’s commission, although he was a faithful segregationist. Sibley did oppose the massive resistance surrounding desegregation while generating support for “local options” for segregation. Following the crisis with enrolling the first African Americans into the University of Georgia, Sibley and Ernest Vandiver were forced to introduce a bill that began the initial steps of desegregation in Georgia. On page 6, the Sibley report states, “The Constitution of the United States, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, is the law of the land and state laws that are in conflict are unenforceable. Any public school system must now recognize that the state cannot by law enforce racial segregation in the schools.” The Georgia Constitution did not uphold, and Atlanta schools began the desegregation movement in schools in May of 1961.