The decision was unanimous. Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the Court.

Question

...Here... 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 these cases. We must look instead to the effect of segregation itself on public education...
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... Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in
preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it
is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.
Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on
equal terms. . . .
To separate them [children in grade and high schools] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of
their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in
a way unlikely to ever be undone. . . . Whatever may have been the extent of psychological knowledge at the time of
Plessy v. Ferguson, this finding is amply supported by modern authority...
We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and other similarly situated... are...
deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

. How does each of the first three paragraphs of the Court's opinion contribute to the
conclusion drawn in the last paragraph about separate educational facilities?
Support your answer with evidence from the text.
(write like an 7th grader simply in 2 sentences)

Answer 1

The first three paragraphs show that education is very important for all children and that it should be equal for everyone, regardless of their race. They argue that separating children by race makes them feel inferior, which affects their success in life, leading to the conclusion that separate schools are not truly equal and therefore go against the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law.