39. The court case Brown v. Board of Education overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine established by:
Answer: B
Brown v. Board of Education overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson.
The doctrine of "separate but equal" was established by the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which upheld racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were deemed equal. Brown v. Board of Education, decided in 1954, declared that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, thus overturning the precedent set by Plessy.
A) Shelly v. Kraemer
Shelly v. Kraemer (1948) dealt with racially restrictive covenants in property deeds and did not establish the "separate but equal" doctrine. It addressed issues of discrimination in housing rather than educational segregation, making it irrelevant to the context of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
B) Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) is the landmark case that established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which justified racial segregation. Brown v. Board of Education directly challenged and overturned this doctrine, making this option the correct answer.
C) Buchanan v. Warley
Buchanan v. Warley (1917) addressed the legality of racial zoning laws but did not establish the "separate but equal" doctrine. Instead, it ruled against the enforcement of residential segregation, which is distinct from the educational segregation context of Brown.
D) Jones v. Mayer
Jones v. Mayer (1968) focused on racial discrimination in housing sales and reaffirmed the federal commitment to civil rights in housing. While significant, it does not relate to the "separate but equal" doctrine or its overturning in the context of education.
Conclusion
The correct answer is Plessy v. Ferguson, as it is the case that established the "separate but equal" doctrine that was later overturned by Brown v. Board of Education. All other options either deal with different aspects of racial discrimination or are unrelated to the educational context in which Brown operated. Thus, only Plessy is relevant to the question at hand.