Living the Dream

Charles Hamilton Houston

 

Duration:

3 minutes, 7 seconds

Park Guide Fatimah Purvis takes us through the life and achievements of Charles Hamilton Houston, the man who 'killed' Jim Crow. Houston led the development of the NAACP's plan and approach to challenge segregation, which eventually led to the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

 

The Topeka, Kansas NAACP Legal Defense Fund Attorneys in Brown v. Board of Education

On February 28, 1951, in Topeka, Kansas three African American graduates of Washburn Law School, Charles Scott, John Scott, and Charles Bledsoe, filed the case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education in the U. S. District Court of Kansas. The lawsuit went on to the United States Supreme Court where on May 17, 1954 the court overturned the 1896 ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson (separate but equal) and declared segregated education unconstitutional.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund Attorney Charles Bledsoe

Charles Edward Bledsoe was born in Topeka, Kansas, on March 3, 1891, to Ledbetter and Raney (Crider) Bledsoe. He married Carrie S. circa 1914 and worked as one of several African American firemen in the Topeka fire department, Bledsoe graduated Washburn University law School in 1937.

Charles became active in the NAACP and led Topeka chapter’s legal committee. When members of the Topeka NAACP decided to challenge the separate but equal doctrine applied to public education, Charles led the charge in documenting the issues African American children faced when traveling long distances to segregated schools outside of their neighborhood. Charles Bledsoe also brought in Charles and John Scott to serve as co-counsel and eventually contacted the national NAACP Legal Defense Fund to assist. Bledsoe joined Robert Carter and Jack Greenberg of the NAACP’s national office and presented the case to a panel of three federal judges in Topeka. The NAACP attorneys argued that segregated schools in Topeka violated the Fourteenth Amendment of equally protecting African American children regardless in addition, this separation based on skin color was harmful to the self-esteem of African American children.

The judges agreed with the psychological harm caused by segregated education. Nevertheless, the court ruled that white and black schools in Topeka were equal and that segregation was consistent with the laws of Kansas and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. After this case was defeated, attorneys filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. There it was combined with NAACP cases from three other states and Washington, D.C., where it became known as Oliver L. Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka. Bledsoe joined a team of other civil rights attorneys on the landmark case. The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision led to the integration of the nation’s public schools. Charles Bledsoe died February 16, 1972, in Pima, Arizona.

Charles E. Bledsoe - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society (kshs.org)http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/213410

NAACP Legal Defense Fund Attorney John Scott

John J. Scott was born on August 31, 1919 in Topeka. He was the second child of Elisha and Esther Scott. John received his formal education at Topeka High School and the University of Kansas. After graduation, he followed in his father's footsteps and in 1942 entered the law school at Washburn University, however he only completed two years before he was called for active duty in World War II. In 1946, John returned to Washburn University to complete his law degree then graduated June 8, 1947 and joined his father in the family law firm.

In 1951, at the age of 32, John earned a place in history when he joined his brother, Charles, in a fight for the educational equality of all children. Notoriety came to John May 17, 1954 when the United States Supreme Court ruled favorably in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. That same year John and his wife Berdyne relocated to Washington, D.C. where he took a position at the Department of Interior as assistant solicitor.

John worked for the Department of Interior for 30 years and retired in October 1984. Later that month on October 24, John J. Scott died of a heart attack, he was 65. In October 1996, the Board of Education of Topeka Public Schools dedicated Scott Magnet School in his honor.

John Scott – Topeka High Historical Society (thshistoricalsociety.org)

Attorneys - Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

NAACP Legal Defense Fund Attorney Charles Scott

Charles Sheldon Scott was born in Topeka on April 15, 1921, to Elisha and Esther Scott. He attended Topeka public schools, graduating from Topeka High School. He served in the Second Cavalry Division and the Red Ball Express Transportation Unit with the U.S. Army during World War II. Charles earned a bachelor’s degree at Washburn University in 1948 and received his juris doctorate from Washburn in 1970 he married Louise Crawford in Topeka on February 7, 1947 they had two children. In joining his father’s law firm, Scott worked on several civil rights cases including one to integrate South Park elementary school in Johnson County. Webb v. School District No. 90 was upheld to the Kansas Supreme Court in 1949 and African American children were allowed entrance to the school. He also worked on cases to end discriminatory practices at Topeka theaters, restaurants, and pools.

Scott, his brother John Scott, and Charles Bledsoe agreed to represent members of the Topeka chapter of the NAACP in 1950 when they decided to challenge the separate but equal doctrine applied to public education. McKinley Burnett, a longtime community activist and president of the Topeka NAACP joined the group of attorneys as they began to develop a strategy for the challenge. Their plan involved enlisting the support of fellow NAACP members and personal friends as plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against the Board of Education of Topeka Public Schools. In 1951, after parents were denied the right to enroll their children in school, the attorneys filed a case in federal district court. After this case was defeated, attorneys filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. There it was combined with NAACP cases from three other states and Washington, D.C., where it became known asOliver L. Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka. Charles, his brother John Scotts, and Charles Bledsoe joined a team of other civil rights attorneys on the landmark case. The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision led to the integration of the nation’s public schools.

In the 1960s Scott worked with other civil rights workers in the South and as national legal counsel for the Congress of Racial Equality. In the 1970s he taught in the political science department at the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.

Scott was a longtime member of the NAACP and a founder of the Coordinating Committee of the Black Community. He was active in his church, Asbury Mount Olive United Methodist Church, the Elks, and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Scott died in Topeka on March 3, 1989.

About the Scotts of Topeka, Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education (washburn.edu)

Charles Scott, Sr. - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society (kshs.org)

Segregated America - Separate Is Not Equal (si.edu)